A Taicho Returns
by mynameislow
Summary: It had been three years ago when hell broke lose, leaving his zanpaktou broken and a mysterious tattoo appearing on his wrist. After he gets rescued from Hueco Mundo, Hitsugaya struggles as he tries to get back on his own two feet. Please R&R!
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I own nothing! I'm just playing around in Kubo Tite's sandbox before he catches me. lol._

_Warning: Hitsu gets hurt a lot. nod_

_Enjoy Reading! :D_

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The small room was very dark and cold. Very little light seemed to get in from the small crack under the large metal door. The room was silent as well only to the exception of the shallow breathes coming from a young man.

His white hair which he was known by was filthy. Instead of the shining white, it was of a dirty gray. His face was as pale as the moon, and his eyes had lost the usual glimmer they held. His clothes were ragged and contained a few bloodstains at some certain spots. The young man looked exhausted as a hand clenched tightly onto his left side. He had leaned his head back onto the wall, trying his best to not wince at the pain. He was not going to show weakness. No matter what'll happen. He will never do it.

"Lil' taiichooooo," called a voice from behind the metal door, amusement in his tone. "Yo' still alive?"

No reply.

"Awww, com' on Lil'taiichoo," the man teased, as he unlocked the door. Once the door was unlocked, he pushed it, letting a lot of light come in. And that had made the young man squint. He hadn't seen the light in a very long time, which made sense to why his eyes were so sensitive to it.

As footsteps could be heard, the young man pulled his knees up to his chest with a small wince and turned his head to the other side, not wanting to look at the older man.

"Tch. Lil'taicho shuldn' be like dat!" The man smirked, tilting his head to the side to have a better look at the boy. His hands were shackled as well as his feet. He had been wearing something around his neck, which kept the boy from using his reiatsu. "Well, since yo' ain't talkin' to me. I jus' came to tell ya that Aizen-sama is plannin' to do sumthin' wit' ya. Yo' shuld be happy. Not many prisoners get ter have dat much fun," he smiled, turned his back to the boy and taking a few steps towards the door.

"Oh. And Lil'taicho shuld eat his food. Wouldn' want Lil'taicho dead, now don't we?" And with that he walked out of the small room, shutting the door behind him and locking it.

He was alone again. Silence was somewhat of a friend to him right now. Most of the things he heard in these times were either someone telling him about his next torture, his own screams and cries of agony filling the room and their laughs.

Their laughs.

They echoed in this room sometimes, making him shudder. But he wasn't afraid of them. He wasn't afraid of any of them! He was a warrior, and a captain.

Well, probably an ex-captain now.

How long has he been gone? Sighing, he moved his body a bit so that he would end up lying his back on the cold floor. As he looked up into the darkness, he kept thinking. Thinking was a reason that kept him going on in a place like this. The second thing was, everyone back in Seireitei was expecting him back. Unless, they thought he was dead.

Sometimes, he thought about them. The people who were in Seireitei. Had they thought he was truly dead? Maybe they had since they have seen him fight with Ichimaru Gin, the man that had just entered the room. God he wanted to kill him. He almost did, if it wasn't for his zanpakuto stabbing him right bellow his heart.

Slowly, he moved his hand to lightly touch his scar. That was the first scar he had gotten from this place. And after that same scar, the others came down on him like the rain coming down onto the ground with its rapid speed.

Tightly shutting his eyes, he tried his best to suppress the painful memories of that day.

Pain. Blood. Cries. Injuries. Shouts. Yells. Killings. Arrancar. Pain. Blood. Blood. Blood. Blood. Blood. Matsumoto. Cries. Yells. Shouts. Hinamori. Killings. Pain. Yells. Cries. Blood. Kurosaki. Cries. Yells. Injuries. Pain. Quincy. Inoue. Sado. Blood. Blood. Blood. Blood. Blood. Taichos. Fukutaichos. Screams. Agony. Yells. Cries. Shouts. Blood. Blood. Blood. Hyorinmaru…

_Hyorinmaru._

As he repeated that name in his head over and over, he tightly held onto himself. How long has it been since his blade broke? How long has it been since he felt Hyorinmaru's presence? It has been too long, just too long.

A tear rolled down his cheek and he quickly wiped it away. Ashamed with himself for being weak at that very moment, he rolled on his side and slowly lowered his right sleeve. Staring at the small dragon tattoo that had appeared on his wrist after his blade broke, he weakly smiled, feeling reassured that maybe, just maybe everything will be alright.

With that, he took a deep breath and waited for what Aizen had for him. But, he knew what would happen. Surely it would be a one on one with an Espada.

Not paying much attention, the door swung open, showing five figures standing.

"Get up, Hitsugaya." Chuckled one of the figures, as the other two approached him. One of the men grabbed onto the boy's hand shackles and furiously lifted him up , making him almost fly across the room. The moment he was up, another man pushed him so he would fall down again.

Toshiro fell on his knees and winced as the pain on his left side increased. Panting, he looked up at the blue haired Espada with a death defying glare.

"Come on, get up. Aizen-sama said we can play."


	2. Chapter 2

_Wa…was that an explosion? _

Staring at the wall in front of him, Toshiro weakly blinked. He tried to string two thoughts together as to figure out what was happening outside, but he was too weak. He was too tired. If only he can sleep right now…

_No, you can't sleep. Not after all of this time. Wait for a few moments. Hope. Don't sleep, Toshiro. _

As he fought the urge to shut his eyes, his vision slightly blurred. He had to fight. He had to keep himself up, even though it was only for a few moments. They had to find him. If there was anyone out there, which he expects, they would eventually find him and rescue him from the hell he was in.

With every minute passing by, his vision became blurrier, his breathes were almost none existent and he couldn't move any part of his body. He was getting weaker. He certainly did feel weaker.

So this is how he was going to die? Pitiful. He would've wanted to die in a war and not in a cell. He would've wanted to die with honor. Instead, he was here held captive by his enemies who laughed and enjoyed tormenting the young Taicho.

_Taicho…_

He wasn't a Taicho. Foolish, Toshiro. They must've hit his head so hard that he forgot he had lost that title about three years ago.

Three years ago…

He lost everything three years ago.

_Hinamori._

He always thought about her every day in this place. Sometimes, he thought it was that mere thought that kept him going. He needed to survive for her. Even though she had passed, she would've wanted him to live. Even though it ached him, he knew that was her wish for her Shiro-chan. She had sacrificed her life to protect his. She had sacrificed it for him to continue living in Seireitei as a Taicho.

He wasn't a Taicho, though. He was considered as a dead Taicho. They thought he was dead and he was sure about it. Toshiro heard it. He heard Matsumoto's cries, her screams, her shouts. They were all for her Taicho.

_Matsumoto…_

Suddenly, the cold, icy ground beneath him violently shook. Although Hitsugaya didn't feel the ground violently shake. To him it was as though someone had nudged him into waking up. It annoyed him, but he couldn't do anything and he had been lying on the ground for quite sometimes, bleeding.

_Blood…_

He didn't know how long it had been since he was thrown back into this cell after the surprise Aizen had for him. But he knew that he had been bleeding for some time, which may explain the blurriness in his vision. At first it had pained him, it had agonized him, but now it was numb.

How had he gotten that wound? How did he get injured?

Oh, that's right, the game the Espada played with him.

_Run while you can, Lil' taicho. _

"Run," he murmured, shutting his eyes for a few seconds. No! He had to get up. He had to have hope. He had to stay awake for Hinamori, for Matsumoto, and for Seireitei.

_The game…_

He was sure, he never wanted to play it again. Grimmjow, the number six Espada (which Hitsugaya could only remember at the moment)and the others decided to play a little tag with Toshiro. But there was a small twist in the rules. They used their zunpakutos, while he ran away from each and everyone. Until the final blow which was given by the Grimmjow, making him victorious, and making Toshiro getting closer to his death bed.

They hadn't mended his wound like they did with the others. That's what Aizen's surprise was, letting him bleed himself to death. He had mentioned that his "friends" where coming to Hueco Mundo, and it would be very exciting to see the looks on their faces as they see that the Taicho had been indeed alive for the past three years and dead in front of them all.

_Aizen…_

Suddenly, the wall he had been staring at was shattered, making the dust fill the room. Coughing, Toshiro winced at the pain that had stung on his side. He blinked in front of him after the pain had gone numb and stared at what made that wall shatter.

"Toshiro?!" A familiar voice called as his saw the young's man face. It's been long since he's heard that voice. Three years since he's heard it. Seeing that it had been indeed Toshiro, the man ran towards him and crouched beside him. "God, Toshiro…"

Feeling himself fading away, he tried to smile at the orange haired boy that was beside him. He was safe. He didn't care if he died at that moment, but he was safe.

"Toshiro, can you hear me?" No. He couldn't hear him well, it was like he was murmuring his words. "Toshiro, stay with me! Hitsugaya-Taicho!" Why was the man frantic? His voice seemed afraid, but why should be afraid? "Renji! Come and help me get him out now! We don't have time. He's bleeding!"

Those were about the last words he'd heard. From that point on Hitsugaya Toshiro let the darkness wrap around him as it had been trying for quite some time.


	3. Chapter 3

_lolol. I'm so new to this. XD So umm... yeah if you see me mess around, don't get weirded out. nods_

_Disclaimer: I own NUUUTHING. All Kubo Tite's! At the moment, he's being called to go back into the house. cackles I'm just playing with his imaginary toys. _

_Warning: Hitsuuuu Whumpage. D:! _

Matsumoto cried a river that day, but how can she not?

She remembered Renji holding her while she screamed and cried out for her Taicho.

_Her sweet, young Taicho…_

She always thought she would go before him. She had intended to go before him, dying to protect him. Rangiku knew Seireitei was in need of their Taicho's. They were in need of him.

_Hitsugaya-Taicho…_

He was always such a cold person, chuckled Rangiku in the thought as she looked down at the paperwork. Paperwork wasn't something she was goot at. All she was good at was lounging on the green couch in front of her, but that had been a long time ago. Now, she was sitting on the desk on the desk doing paperwork. Honestly, Matsumoto never thought she'd end up on the same desk as her Taicho, being a Taicho.

_Matsumoto-Taicho…_

She remembered the day they asked her to step up as a Taicho. She instantly refused. Rangiku didn't belong as a Taicho in the Gotei 13. She was a Fukutaicho and she was Hitsugaya's Fukutaich, no one else's. But when Ukitake-Taicho told her that Hitsugaya would wanted her to take that position, she agreed with no discussion.

It was hard, being a Taicho. It was hard for him not to be here to act so cold around her. She terribly missed him. She wished she could see him right now. Last time she had seen him was when the big battle began.

Sighing, she grabbed all of the paperwork and stacked them all on the left side of the desk. Rangiku was tired of doing this, and decided it was best if she sat down in thought.

Her thoughts quickly drifted Toshiro. How he had died in battle, protecting Seireitei. Rangiku didn't exactly see him die, but she had heard everything from the moment he charged into the fight, till the moment he screamed out of pain when Ichimaru Gin stabbed him.

_Gin…_

How could have he done such a thing? She tried to understand how he betrayed Seireitei to join the Arrancar. She tried to understand how could he leave her, how could he leave his childhood friend?

But now, he wasn't her childhood friend. He was her enemy.

The enemy that killed Hitsugaya Taicho.

Rubbing her face, she took a deep breath then ran her hands through her dirty blonde hair. She should forget about this. This happened years ago. But it was sure that she will, and she's going to make sure that she will kill Ichimaru Gin with her bare hands. She is going to avenge her Taicho.

Her thoughts were soon cut off when her 6th seat, Sadaharu Tatsuo came in sweating, his eyes as wide as eggs.

"Taicho! Taicho!" he frantically called out, leaning against her door as he tried to take a few deep breathes.

Raising a brow at her 6th seat, she sat up straight and intertwined her hands. "What is it Sadaharu?"

"You—you won't believe this, Taicho."

Now this was odd. Rangiku stood up and walked towards the man, her hands on her waist. "Well?"

"I just saw Kurosaki Ichigo and Abarai Renji running towards the 4th division with…" Tatsu paused, hesitating with his what he was about to say.

Noticing his hesitation was frustrating her. "With whom, Sadaharu?! I have no ti—"

"Hitsugaya-Taicho," he weakly said, holding his breath.

_Hitsugaya-Taicho…_

"It can't be…" Matsumoto whispered. "He died. He died three years ago." Was that possible? For someone to come back from the dead? No, no. She heard him, but she didn't see him.

_Taicho…_

"Get out of my way, Tatsuo."

--

"Unohana -Taicho, will Toshiro be okay?" Ichigo asked, his eyes on the small boy. He looked horrible. What have they done to him? His hair had grown, but it was messy and darker than it had been. His white clothes were ripped apart, showing all of the bruises and all of the cuts he had. It also showed the huge wound that Inoue managed to stop bleeding with the help of her faeries. But they didn't stop the bleeding and it had only lasted for a few hours, which was good enough for them. There were dark circles under his eyes, indicating that he hasn't slept for quite sometimes. Toshiro was also looked so thin and fragile.

Those bastards.

Looking up at the Shinigami substitute, she sighed. "His reiatsu is very low, it's almost none existent. And his injuries are very severe; they'll take a very long time to heal. But, I have a question, Ichigo." Unohana-san murmured, looking down at Hitsugaya.

"Yes?"

"When you picked up Hitsugaya-Taicho, did you see this?" And with that, she pulled back his right sleeve, showing off the tattoo on his wrist.

Surprised, he gently shook his head. "No, I haven't. I didn't have time to see anything, really. With all those bastards trying to attack us, I just made sure that we'd stop the bleeding and get the hell out of there," Ichigo angrily said, remembering how he found Toshiro.

Renji had told him that when he had fought one of the Hollows, they've managed to spill out something about a Shinigami prisoner before he killed them off. Both men went searching everywhere, and couldn't find this prisoner. Frustrated, the orange haired man decided to smash everything to find this prisoner as fast as they can and get the hell out of there.

When he had smashed that wall, he never excepted to see Hitsugaya Toshiro, lying on the ground, surrounded by his own pool of blood. Ichigo ran to him, and he seemed to smile. It wasn't much of a smile, but he seemed a bit happy to see Kurosaki. Frowning, Ichigo started to call out the young Taicho's name, but he didn't answer them. He even called him by the name he demanded to be called by and he didn't answer. Instead, he closed his eyes and stopped breathing.

Panicking, Ichigo called out for Renji so he can have a bit of help. Renji was just as shocked as he was as he saw the dead Taicho on the back of Ichigo. Quickly, the both headed to Inoue Orihime's direction so they can at least stop the bleeding and get some life back into him, even though it was little.

Finding Inoue, she called out her faeries and they only could do little for the Taicho. As soon as she was done, Ichigo carried Hitsugaya on his back and called everyone back so they could retreat and go back to Seireitei, where Hitsugaya could get immediate attention.

As soon as they made it to Seireitei, Ichigo and Renji ran as fast as they could towards the 4th division. People who saw them run by either had their jaws dropped or their eyes as wide as potatoes.

Did they have Hitsugaya-Taicho with them?!

Some called them, but Ichigo was determined to got Toshiro as quick as possible to the 4th division. He didn't know how long the young genius could last.

Now, they were surrounded around him as the healers tried their best to heal Toshiro.

"This is quite a strange marking…" whispered the 4th division's Taicho. "I'd have to ask Kurosuchi-Taicho to check up on it, see if there's a meaning to this. Maybe even Ukitake-Taicho and Kyoraku-Taicho."

The only thing Ichigo could do at the moment was merely nod his head. Looking down again, he watched as Hitsugaya managed to breathe in an irregular and shallow manner. It was worrying, but it also meant that he was alive.

_Thank God. _

Suddenly, the door was pulled back, showing a big breasted woman. An angry, big breasted woman. "Where is he?! Where is Taicho?!"

"Please calm down, Matsumoto-Taicho." Unohana-san weakly said, her eyes on Hitsugaya. "He's here, resting. You should not worry. He's in safe hands now, Rangiku.'

Blinking, Matsumoto shifted her sight from Unohana-san and right to the figure that was lying down. Her eyes were watering as she saw what seemed to be her Taicho. "S—Shiro-chan," she whispered, a tear rolling down her pinkish cheek as she walked up to the group.

Sitting beside them, she took a closer look of what used to be Hitsugaya. He looked awful, lifeless and…

She was going to murder who did this to him. Her hands balled into fists, as more tears rolled down her cheek. "Taicho." Rangiku called, her voice shaky.

"Matsumoto."

Turning her head to see who had called her, she saw the orange haired boy, Ichigo. Looking into his eyes, she could tell he had the same thought as she did just now.

"We'll get them for this. Don't worry, Matsumoto." Ichigo calmly said, his eyes on Hitsugaya.

She just nodded her head, afraid she'd break into tears and sob if she spoke.

She will avenge him.

Even if it costs her own life.

She will avenge him.

_Author's Note:_

_Ahaha. Hoped you guys liked it. XD I admit I was rushing when I wrote this chapter. I'm a bit disappointed too, but hey it's my first time doing something like this. OO So I guess YAY! Comments are welcome! :D_


	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer: Y'all know the drill. Kubo Tite's. Ain't mine. I wish it was though. siiiiiiigh_

_Hehe enjoy! :D_

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Where was he? How did he get here? And hasn't he been here before?

These were the three questions he kept asking himself as he stood in the middle of a clear white field. His teal eyes looked around, trying to figure out the mystery of this foreign place. A serious look was upon his face, seeing as he did not trust the land he was standing on, although, Toshiro couldn't help but feel a familiar aura. He couldn't say how , but he knew he had been here before. The white field was cold as ice and realizing that soon as he bent down to touch the ground that it had been ice. Thinking for a few moments, the white haired young man came to a conclusion that the field of ice was some kind of reflection.

_"Toshiro."_

That voice. That voice sent chills down his spine. In fact, it could send chills down anyone's spine, and Toshiro froze when he heard it. He was not afraid of that voice. Indeed, it had been a cold, deep, and growling one. Anyone would be afraid once they heard it, but he wasn't. Toshiro wasn't afraid. Instead, he slowly turned around, almost happy to face that one who had called out his name. He knew who it was. He knew who had called him out.

"Hyorinmaru," he whispered a small smile appearing on his lips as he faced the large ice dragon.

Its scales were as bright as the moonlight's as it stood tall and proud. The dragon looked down, his glimmering red eyes set on the young man's teal ones.

The two stood in silence. Not one of them talked and not one of them dared to. For Toshiro, silence seemed enough to connect with the dragon. His eyes were on Hyorinmaru, closely watching the dragon as it breathed, shifted its weight, and stare back at him. Was this real? Was it really Hyorinmaru? With a deep breath, Hitsugaya took a few steps forward, daring to invade the dragon's personal space. But the dragon spoke no word as the young man took his small steps.

Once close enough, Toshiro raised his head up high to look into the dragon's red eyes. "It is you, Hyorinmaru." Hitsugaya muttered, not believing the four words that came out of his mouth. The dragon did not reply, but instead it lowered its self until both it and the boy eyes were on one level.

_"Toshiro,"_ the dragon growled, not taking his eyes off of the boy. _"Have you forgotten yourself?" _He asked, his voice hinting a bit of anger.

Has he forgotten himself? For one, he knew he wasn't the same Hitsugaya Toshiro.The 10th division Taicho, the wielder of a zanpakuto, the young genius and prodigy child. He wasn't the same person. He had changed and he had go—

_  
"Gotten weaker, Toshiro." _Hyorinmaru said, finishing his thought. It was expected from the dragon to know what he was thinking about. Hyorinmaru was a part of him as well as he was a part of Hyorinmaru. Without him, he would be nothing.

Furrowing his brows, Toshiro crossed his arms and looked away from the dragon's gaze. His eyes looked over the field of ice they were standing on. He felt a cold sensation flowing through his body as he watched the view. Then a few moments later, he realized that this place was the same one he visited in his dreams.

"Help me get stronger, Hyorinmaru." Hitsugaya weakly whispered after some time, not looking back at the dragon. "Help me regain myself,' he said, finally looking back, his eyes determined. "Help me, Hyorinmaru."

_"You do realize that I will follow you not matter what, Toshiro."_

His eyes softened at the simple words the dragon had said. "Aregato, Hyorinmaru."

"Aregato."

--

Gently running her hand through the young boy's hair, Unohana-Taicho weakly smiled. She had always had a soft spot for the young Taicho, even though he had asked to be treated as one of her own. She tried to hide it, but she could not help feeling so motherly towards the boy. Compared to all of the people around Seireitei, Hitsugaya-Taicho was like a son she had never had.

She remembered the day when they told her he died. It was a dark day for her. For she, in her mind, had lost a son in battle. At first, she tried to convince Yamamoto-Genryusai-Taicho that the boy was too young to go into that kind of battle. He, in her mind was still inexperienced. She didn't say this in front of Toshiro, of course. But she spoke with the commander of the Gotei 13 about this matter in private. In the end, Yamamoto-Genryusai-had told her that it was a Taicho's duty to fight the enemies in battles such as these, even it costs their lives.

That day was one of the days she will never forget. For one, Seireitei had lost many Shinigamies that had sacrificed their lives to win the battle. And the second thing was when Abarai Fukutaicho came into the 4th division, tightly holding onto a hysterical Matsumoto Fukutaicho. They were both injured, and she had made sure that they were attended to. Remembering the moment she approached them, Rangiku pulled away from Abarai and instead held onto Unohana-Taicho while she kept on crying.

She was confused on why the Fukutaicho was crying, but when she had looked up and saw the look Abarai Fukutaicho had, she knew something when terribly wrong. Slowly pulling away from the Fukutaicho, she tried to look into her eyes, and when she did, her heart stopped.

_"Where's Hitsugaya-Taicho?"_

Sometimes, when she would dwell on that memory she wished she never asked that question, since her answer was a Matsumoto, collapsing on the floor, burring her face in her hands and crying her sorrow away.

Tears rolled down her cheeks, as it was obvious the Fukutaicho's answer was that the young Taicho had died in battle. The Taicho tried to remind herself that he died with pride and honor, but she couldn't help cry over how young and innocent he was. The boy had a great future ahead of him, and it was all washed away in a battle. Unohana-san pulled herself together for that moment since many needed her. And when the day had been over, and everyone was tended to, she headed towards the 13th division where Ukitake-Taicho and Kyoraku-Taicho were there.

They had been her friends for a long time, so she had not been ashamed to cry over the lost Taicho in front of them. And they did not judge her by doing so. They had known how she had felt towards the young boy, as they had the same exact feeling. The two men thought of themselves as the boy's father figure, even though he was always annoyed when they told him so.

They will miss calling him "Shiro-chan". The name he hated and always got annoyed with. They will miss when he corrects them in a cold manner. They will miss the boy so much.

The day after, a ceremony was set up for the Taicho. A reminder of what he had done for Seireitei, and how he died in battle trying to defend it. Many cried, including Matsumoto-Fukutaicho as more words were said about the Taicho . All divisions attended the ceremony, and even to Unohana-Taicho's surprise, the 11th division and its Taicho.

But now, three years after, he returned to her. Her little Taicho was here, in the 4th division and he was under her wing. She promised herself that she would protect him, even though he would hate it and demand to be treated like any other Shinigami. This time, she'll make sure he is protected, and with the condition he was in he needed all the protection he can get.

Her fingers continued to delicately run through his hair, smiling at him. His condition was stable from when he first came, which was a disaster. She hated the way he came back.

Yamamato-Taicho had decided to start another battle with the Arrancar as they must be weakened before anything big happens. Only a few offered to go there. Kurosaki Ichigo, Abarai-Fukutaicho, The Quincy, Inoue Orihime, Sado Yasatora and Kuchiki Rukia were amongst a few of the 11th division members who wanted to have some fun fighting those Arrancars.

But they didn't last long since Kurosaki came running into the 4th division with Abarai behind him. She remembered staring at their frantic faces, a reassuring smile forming on her lips as though everything will be fine. 

Although, the moment Kurosaki came closer to her, showing the very small figure on his back, she gave a small gasp.

It had been Hitsugaya-Taicho.

Without a minute's heartbeat, she called her best healers as well as her Fukutaicho to take the small Taicho and quickly attend to him as it seemed he had lost plenty of blood. She had to admit, the boy was indeed very close to his death, but with the quick work her healers did, he was slowly recovering.

It had been almost a month since he entered the 4th division. And truth be told, it was very hard to keep the Taicho stable. One moment, he would run a dangerous fever and the next his temperature would drop, making him become as cold as ice. His breaths were mostly irregular and panic like and it worried her, but luckily now he was breathing normally.

"Unohana-Taicho."

Her thoughts were at that moment cut off by Matsumoto-Taicho. Looking at the other female, she gave her a small smile and ushered her to sit on the boy's other side. She had seen her hesitate a bit, but then Rangiku seemed to decide that she would sit next to Toshiro. As she sat, Unohana-Taicho resumed with running her hands through his hair.

"How is he?" Rangiku asked worriedly, looking down at Toshiro.

The older woman knew how the blonde felt about Toshiro. He was a little brother she had never had, and she treated him with the respect he had demanded at times. They always made a good team, thought Unohana. He was cold, strict and serious while she had been hyper, easy going and fun, although, that had changed the moment they told her he had died. It was as though his personality took over her.

"Do not worry, Matsumoto-Taicho. He's doing very well compared to the first time he came to us. He's improving and I can feel a bit of his reiatsu coming back," assured her Unohana with a smile, even though something bothered her about Toshiro.

Hesitating, she looked at Rangiku and sighed. "Rangiku, have you ever seen this before on the Taicho?" she asked, pulling the young boy's right sleeve, showing off the dragon tattoo on his wrist. But it seemed she had gotten her answer when Rangiku's eyes widened. "So it is a no," sighed Retsu.

"I think, it has to do something with his zunpukuto, Taicho." Rangiku murmured, taking a closer look at the dragon. "Hyorinmaru is a dragon if you remember, Taicho."

That thought never crossed her mind really. She needed to consider that thought. Smiling at Matsumoto, Retsu gave a small nod and looked back at Toshiro. "I'll ask Kur—"

Unohana Retsu froze, as she saw that there were a pair of teal eyes, looking back at her brown ones with as much as confusion as she had.

"Unohana-Taicho?"

_Author's Note:_

_The cliffhanger I think is the best one I've wrote so far. lmao. I really suck at them. Haha. I think I'm getting good at writing, but I just need time to actually read what I write, which is hard for me. xx _

_Comments are REALLY welcomed. :D _


	5. Chapter 5

After thanking Hyorinmaru, the dragon disappeared. Toshiro didn't know what had happened and where he had gone to, since he had called the monstrous beast over and over again. A couple of seconds later, it was hopeless and he stopped. Had he left him for good? Was this the last time that he would see the ice creature? Toshiro thought even his questions couldn't be answered, because he wasn't sure of the answer. Actually, he didn't have an answer for them and it had annoyed him. From when he was in the Shinigami School, he somehow could always answer the questions. Even if he wasn't sure they were right, he had an answer. This time, he didn't and it frustrated him to no end.

He was left alone. He was alone in this cold ice land and it gave him a shiver. Rubbing his hands against his arms for warmth, Hitsugaya thought of no option but to walk across the ice. Maybe there were answers on the other side of this land. Who knew? Maybe Hyorinmaru was testing him to see if he was worthy enough to be helped. No, that couldn't be right, because the dragon just said he would follow him no matter what. Then why would he try to test him?

Toshiro was losing it, and strange enough he knew it. The boy rubbed his fingers on his temples to ease the headache that had just started a few moments ago. Great, a headache at a time like this. Perfect. With a sigh, he took his fingers away and stared into the field. He should start moving right now.

Before Hitsugaya managed to take his first step, he felt like someone had tightly grabbed onto his back and pulled him with a strong force. As soon as that had happen, a white blinding light was followed by it.

--

Ugh. His head was worse than it had been when it first started. It was probably because of the light that blinded him.

Stupid white light.

His eyes were shut, he had a migraine and his body ached a bit. Perfect.

With enough self will, Toshiro managed to open his eyes, expecting to be lying on his back on the cold field and staring at its white sky. Only, he found himself lying on something warm and was looking at a fuzzy figure. The figure spoke in tongues at first, but as his ears adjusted he realized it was speaking about him. Who was this person? And why did he feel his right hand being raised? Blinking, Toshiro's vision began to focus and then he saw her.

It couldn't be, but it seemed that it had been her as their eyes met, his teal ones with her brown ones. Both very confused.

"Unohana-Taicho?"

His voice was scratchy, low and dry. It was quite obvious that it hadn't been used in a very long time, and when used, it was only for shouting in pain. He swallowed as to clear his voice and try to get rid of the itching feeling it had.

He didn't get his reply as he expected to, but instead she stared at him. So this was one of his strange dreams, wasn't it? He figured since he had missed Seireitei so much, he imagined everything. Being rescued from his prison in Hueco Mundo, being taken back to Seireitei, and getting to see Hyorinmaru in that strange ice land. All of these had been dreams, he thought. It was an escape from the horrific reality he was facing. He was trying to escape his death, even when it wasn't possible. Maybe, just maybe, he wanted to go away in a good way. A way he'd love. He would get to see everyone for the last time, even though they weren't truly there.

"Taicho," whispered a voice. It was too familiar.

Taking his eyes off of Retsu's, Toshiro looked on his other side and was taken by surprise.

It was Matsumoto.

"M—Matsu—Matsumoto," he whispered back, not believing his eyes. She was the same as before, she hadn't changed one bit. Her dirty blonde hair was just as he remembered it. Long, wavy and it still had that smell. It smelled of roses since it had been her favorite flower. The only difference was that she had been wearing a white haori. Was she a Taicho in this dream? Hitsugaya wondered which division, but he quickly figured it out that it had been the 10th. She took over his division in this dream.

Tears rolled down her rosy cheeks, making him frown. Why was she crying? Matsumoto never cried like this, unless it had been something very serious. Turning his gaze back to Unohana-Taicho, he saw that she instead had teary eyes.

"Oh Taicho!" cried out Matsumoto as she bent down and crushed the boy into a huge hug. A wince escaped him, but she didn't care. He was here and he was alive. That was enough for her. "I thought you were gone for good, Taicho!"

Getting crushed by the bigger woman, Toshiro pulled away from her with a confused look. Gone for good? What had she meant by that? He was dead already. Maybe in his dream, he was still alive. That would make sense.

"Matsumoto, pull yourself together." Hitsugaya coldly said, his eyes staring at her. "I'm well enough as you can see. You don't need to go bawling over it." What was with women and crying over some stupid things? "Now, stop it and let me go," he said with a frown. Honestly.

She was surprised by how cold he was. So, he hasn't changed one bit. He was still the Hitsugaya Toshiro she knew and cared for in one life time. With a sigh, she looked over at the 4th division Taicho, expecting her to say something to the small Taicho. Maybe he forgot what happened to him? Could've what they done caused him memory loss? No, it couldn't. Or he wouldn't remember her name and be so cold with her.

With a sudden movement, Retsu placed her hand on Hitsugaya's forehead and smiled. "Shiro-chan," she started with a name she knew he disliked. So she had used to it grab his attention. "It's nice to have you back amongst the living. You made us all worry. We thought we almost lost you, but thank the heavens we didn't."

What was with these women?! What were they blabbing about?! Was this part of his dream? Putting his hand on top of Unohana-Taicho's, he pulled it off of his forehead and glared at her. "Have me back amongst the living? Aren't… aren't I dead?" Hitsugaya asked, lying back on his back 

again and staring at the ceiling, expecting to be awakened by one of the Espadas.

"Shiro-chan, do you know where you are right now?" Retsu calmly asked, a reassuring smile on her face.

Toshiro twitched a bit when she called him by that name again, but he didn't move. Instead, he shut his eyes and expected all of this would go away at this moment. It pained him to see these two women again and get pulled away from them again. He wanted to get out of this dream right now, before he gets too attached. Toshiro was sure that if he kept talking to them, he would surely become weak when pulled back into reality. He needed to stay strong.

Seeing as the young Taicho had not answered her question, Retsu started to run her fingers through his hair again, hoping he would react to it. But to her surprise, he sat as stiff as a board. "Hitsugaya-kun. It's alright. You're in Seireitei now."

"You're lying," were the words that he said, not wanting to open his eyes to see her face again. "You're just an illusion. A dream, a memory I'm having before I die."

"Taicho!" Matsumoto cried, grabbing onto Toshiro's arms and pulling him up from his current position. "You listen to me good, Taicho," Rangiku angrily said, tears rolling down her cheeks as Toshiro finally opened his eyes to see. "You are not dying, you're in Seireitei and you've been here for a month, Taicho. And when you wake up you have the nerve to tell me to back off and pull myself together when all this time I thought you were dead?! Don't you open your mouth when I'm talking, Taicho!" Matsumoto furiously said, as Hitsugaya tried to speak. "Three years, Taicho. Three years since you were taken from us. And now you expect us to act like everything is back to normal?! I wi—"

"Matsumoto-Taicho," spoke up Retsu, her face expressionless.

Staring at the other Taicho, she gave her a nod and let go of Hitsugaya, who seemed to be in shock about Rangiku's action. So it was real. The day he was saved by Kurosaki. It wasn't a dream then. He had been saved.

"Hitsugaya-kun, just as Matsumoto-Taicho had said. You are safe now. You don't need to worry about anything. Please rest, Shiro-chan. You will need your energy," smiled the older woman.

Eying them both as he was sitting, he felt something painful on his right side, making him wince a bit. Damn those Espadas.

As she had suspected when she heard Toshiro wince and his face slowly paling, the wound hadn't fully healed. Due to the torture he had went to and due to the amount demon magic it had contained.

"Rest, Hitsugaya-kun. It is needed in your state."

"Please, Taicho."

With the two women asking him to rest, and with the pain that wouldn't stop on his side, Toshiro finally decided to listen to them both. And with that, he lied back down, shut his eyes and wished that this was no illusion.

--

It didn't take him long before he had drifted into what seemed to be a deep sleep. Rangiku was satisfied, but still worried at the Taicho's condition. He had gone through so much, and he still survived. That proved that the Taicho had a very strong will to live.

Looking back at Unohana-Taicho, Rangiku weakly smiled. "Thank you, Taicho. I don't know what I would've done if he…" she drifted off, not knowing what exactly to say.

"I know, Matsumoto-Taich. I know what you mean. I wouldn't know what to do as well. Let us be thankful that he is here right now and make the best of it by not letting what happened happen again." Retsu said with a serious look. The twinkle she had in her eyes gone and replaced with a frightening glare.

Rangiku merely nodded her head at the Taicho and looked back at Toshiro. She'll never let what happened to him happen again.

"Taicho, should we tell the others?" The blonde suddenly asked, not taking her eyes off of Toshiro.

Thinking for a few moments, Retsu stood up and walked towards the door. Standing there for a few moments, she looked back at Rangiku and smiled. "I shall only tell Ukitake-Taicho and Kyoraku-Taicho. They would be thrilled to know that he is up," Retsu smiled as she took a few steps forward. But then, she stopped and looked over her shoulder with a smile. "Until Hitsugaya-kun fully recovers, we shall tell no one. Understood, Taicho?"

Rangiku looked up at the Taicho and saw her smile. That smile had always made her feel safe somehow. Maybe because Unohana-Taicho had that motherly feeling which made her feel safe? None the less, she was happy that the older woman was here to help her Taicho. Looking down at the Taicho, she tidied his hair and gave a weak smile, then looked back up at the older woman.

"Understood."


	6. Chapter 6

_I seriously did NOT expect this to happen with my FF! I love all of you who commented and all of who read this FF. _

_Thank you all! :D_

_stops blabbering and gets on with the next chapter_

* * *

_"Shi—Shiro-chan."_

"Hinamori!" shouted Hitsugaya, bolting up from his sleep. His eyes were wide as they fearfully darted at every corner around the room. His breaths were deep and panicky like as he ran both his shaking hands through his hair. Pulling his knees up to his chest, Toshiro buried his head between them and clung onto his white locks. This wasn't real. None of this was real. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he started to rock back and forth, calming himself down from that dream he had.

Momo isn't dead. She couldn't be dead. It was all a dream, a nightmare. He knew he was going to get up and find her outside, calling him by the name he disliked so much. She'd have her black hair in a bun like always and she'd be smiling down at him or even giggle.

But, she wasn't here. He had to face reality and realize that Hinamori Momo was dead. She was never going to come back. Never.

Hitsugaya clung onto his hair even more, almost tearing off its roots. "Hinamori," he whispered with a shiver, as more tears rolled down his cheeks. Toshiro didn't bother wiping them away. He kept denying that Hinamori was dead, but deep inside, he knew she was gone. She had died in the battle, trying to protect him.

She was protecting him.

With each passing moment, he felt more frustrated. It was his fault that she died like that. It was all his fault. Hitsugaya ran his hands through his hair again one more time and clung onto them while still rocking.

At that moment, Hitsugaya Toshiro was in a world of his own. He hadn't realized that wooden floors and walls of the room were covered in crystal ice. The room's temperature drastically dropped as the young man held onto himself. His thoughts of his old best friend haunted him. Her laughs, her giggles and the way she used to call out his name.

_"Shiro-chaaaaaaaaaannn."_

"Hi—Hinamori," he cried, his body starting to shiver more than it had been.

"Hitsugaya-kun!" called a voice behind the frozen door.

More bangs could be heard from behind the door as Toshiro didn't answer. "Hitsugaya-kun?! " the worried voice called again, hoping the young man would answer. Instead, he cried while holding himself as the room was again covered by another layer of ice. With time passing, the ice would be covered with another layer of ice, but he spot that Toshiro was sitting on, was untouched by the crystal looking ice. He had not known he was doing this, but he knew there was a cold breeze going through him. In some way the breeze comforted him. The cold comforted him.

Finally wiping his tears away and looking up, his eyes widened at the sight in front of him. Was he in the ice land again? Was this a dream? But realizing that the spot he was on was not covered by ice, he knew he was in the infirmary in the 4th division.

Hitsugaya was amazed at the ice that had covered the room. It looked beautiful and calm and he wished it would stay like that for as long as it could. It made him forget about most things, and at the same time it made him feel at peace with himself.

The dragon inside him was satisfied as well.

It wasn't long until the door was blasted down, showing off a worried Unohana-Taicho and her Fukutaicho, Isane. Toshiro didn't turn his head to face both woman, but he looked in front of him, still marveling at the ice.

"Shiro-chan?" whispered Retsu, looking down at the ice that had frozen the floor. She had never seen such a thing. Well, she had seen something similar, but not something like this. Carefully, she stepped onto the ice covered floor with hope that she would not be frozen along with it. Her hope was soon crushed as the crystal ice slowly began to cover her foot with a thin layer. Isane, her fukutaicho, panicked and was about to step onto the iced floor to save her Taicho. Although, Retsu shook her head at the fukutaicho's attempts and gave her a weak smile, she then gave her foot a strong pull, making the ice shatter in pieces as it released her foot.

Turning her head away from her fukutaicho, Restu looked down at the young man and smiled. "Shiro-chan," she spoke up, wanting to reach out to the boy since it seemed that he was in a world of his own. "Shi—"

"Don't call me that," Toshiro said, cutting the woman off. His voice was harsh and cold, sending chills down the Shinigami's spine. As soon as he spoke those four words, he turned his head to face her, his teal eyes angry. "It's Hitsugaya and not Shiro-chan, understand?"

"Of course, Hitsugaya-kun." Unohana smiled, trying her best not to anger the boy even further. "Are you alright, Hitsugaya-kun?"

Her answer was silence, and that made her tense. The boy had always given an answer to her questions, even though they were rude.

"Hitsugaya-kun…"

"If you'll excuse me." Toshiro quietly said, standing up on his feet. "I must leave," he said in a cold tone, walking past Retsu and surpassing Isane. "I'm sorry about the ice," was the last thing he said before he disappeared out of their sight.

"Taicho?"

"Let us clean this mess before Hitsugaya-kun comes back. We wouldn't want him sleeping in a room covered with us, do we Isane?" smiled Retsu as she turned to face her fukutaicho.

"No, Taicho." The fukutaicho answered.

--

Walking through the halls of the 4th division, Toshiro tried his best to ignore the looks that came from some of the members. The looks they gave him were ones that were surprised or frightened. He disliked that very much, although, Toshiro couldn't blame them. He did disappear for three years and now he's back walking amongst them when they thought he was dead.

With a sight, Toshiro finally found his way to the exit and left the 4th division. He only walked a few steps until someone called him.

"Hitsugaya-Taicho!"

Gritting his teeth, he turned around and crossed his arms, glaring at the woman who called him. "Matsumoto, I am not your Taicho anymore. Get that through your thick skull."

Putting her hands on looking down at the young man, Rangiku huffed. "You're so rude, Taicho! And you should get it through your own thick skull that you will always be my Taicho no matter what."

Irritated by that fact, he turned around, giving her his back and started to move again. He did hear her footsteps following his own, but he didn't care. Let her follow him, it wasn't like he was going to do something mysterious.

After what seemed to be fifteen minutes, Rangiku got bored. How could the Taicho stand all this silence?! She could handle it at first, but now it was bothering her. Deciding on what to do, she walked up next to the Taicho and smiled down at him. "Taiichooo, you just can't keep walking all day, huh?"

He merely looked up at her and glared. Who did she think she was, his mother?

"Matsumoto..."

"Yes, Taicho?" she answered gleefully, expecting the Taicho to tell her that they woulod be going back.

"Please, leave me alone."

Matsumoto stopped dead on her tracks and stared at the young boy as he kept on walking. She wasn't surprised at his request as he always used to tell her to leave him alone. But she was surprised at how he asked it. His eyes weren't on hers and he wasn't annoyed. Instead, he seemed off. As though he was in a world of his own.

Watching as he left her behind, she stood there in thought. What on earth could have made him like that? Was it how he was treated in Hueco Mundo? Was it ho—

Oh.

"Stupid, Rangiku!" she hissed at herself as she turned around and started to run towards the 4th division. While she ran, she wished she had a big hammer so she may thwack herself with it. How stupid could she be?! How could've she forgot about Hinamori?!

As she made it to the 4th division, she asked an 8th seat where the Taicho was and he stuttered that he had seen her with a couple of the 4th division members in Hitsugaya-Taicho's room. In a heartbeat, Rangiku quickly ran to the room and what she saw made her jaw almost drop to the floor.

The room was entirely covered in ice. It was beautiful, but it had a very strange sense to it.

"Are you sure, Retsu?"

"I'm positive, Shunsui. I'm amazed that you don't sense how much reaitsu this ice has. And, if you can see at how my men are trying to get the ice off of the walls it's impossible!"

"Unohana-san," spoke up Rangiku as she walked up beside the woman. With her were the 8th division Taicho, Kyoraku Shunsui and the 13th division Taicho, Ukitake Jushiro. Both men seemed as amazed as she was at the ice they were surrounded by.

"Ahh, Matsumoto!" Ukitake warmly smiled at the blonde's sudden appearance. "It is good to see you again," he smiled, looking up at the ceiling that was also covered in ice. "As you can tell, Matsumoto, we were just talking about this beautiful crystal ice that is covering this room. Amazing, isn't it?"

"Yes it is, Ukitake-Taicho," murmured Rangiku as her eyes wandered around the room. It seemed as though the whole room was covered in ice except a small spot that could've been enough for a boy to sit on.

Looking carefully at the spot, Matsumoto took a few steps towards it and bent down. The ice there had been much more less and it seemed that it had started from that spot. "Taicho…"

"Yes," cut off Retsu, looking back at Ukitake. "I've never seen something like this, Joshiro. And by that, I mean I've never seen Shiro-chan do such a thing. His reaitsu seemed to explode, covering the whole room in ice. "

With a sigh, the white haired man furrowed his brows and nodded his head. "I think you're right. It's the only explanation. But the real question is, what triggered it?"

Swallowing the huge lump that had suddenly appeared in her throat, Rangiku tried her best to smile. "I think… I th—think it's because of Hinamori," she quietly told them, standing on her feet again. "If you remember, Taicho had a close bond with Hinamori fukutaicho. And she died in battle, protecting him."

Never had that thought crossed any of the older Taicho's minds. It was all clear now. The boy had indeed been close to the deceased fukutaicho, so he would be affected by her death.

"Where's the boy now?" Asked Shunsui.

"He's walking alone. He asked me to leave him alone." Rangiku sighed, running a hand through her blonde hair.

Ukitake suddenly turned around and walked towards the door. The three Taicho's were confused of his action, making Shunsui call out for him, asking him what he was going to do?

"I'm going to go look for Shiro-chan. From the looks of this, and from Matsumoto tells us, I'm worried that Shiro-chan would lose control again. And we can't risk the people around him if something goes terribly wrong."

And with that, the white haired man walked out of the room, leaving the three Taicho's staring at each other, hoping nothing serious had happened.

--

Toshiro wasn't aware of where he was going. He only went to where his feet took him. He didn't care if he collapsed right there where he was walking. He knew his body was weak, even though Unohana didn't tell him it was. He had realized that ice that had frozen the room was caused by his reaitsu. Why he caused it was still unknown to him. All he remembered was dreaming about Momo.

_Momo…_

Ugh. How he hated thinking about her at times, especially now. All he needed now was peace , quiet and blank. For once, he wished he never had a thought to think about. Even when he was being tortured in Hueco Mundo, he always managed to think about more than one thing.

"Damn it," he whispered, as he reminded himself that he was thinking too much again.

Taking a deep breath to clear his mind, Hitsugaya kept on walking, his eyes on the ground as to not catch attention, hopefully.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" Someone asked with a laugh, as the grabbed Hitsugaya's collar. He did not expect that to happen, but as a reaction, he covered his face 

with his arms, wishing not to get beaten up. "Hitsugaya Toshiro! So the rumors are true, eh?" the man laughed some more.

Lowering his arms, he looked up to see who had grabbed him. With the shock he had been in, his eyes widened.

"Z—Zaraki Kenpachi."

_Yaaaay! I finished that quiet nicely, eh? Hahaha. I really enjoyed writing this chapter It took time to be honest, but I sure did love writing it. _

_Comments are really welcomed! _


	7. Chapter 7

_Diclaimer: Ain't mine. And it never will be. _

_-cries-_

_Note: So I decided to google some stuff today (don'tyou love google?) and they spelled out Toushriou's name in another way. So I decided to use that one. Hope you don't mind! (I even did that change with Ukitake's name. XD)_

"Heh," grunted Zaraki as he was called by the child prodigy. His terrifying smile turned into a grin once he raised the boy a bit more to have a good look at him. Hitsugaya couldn't help but shudder at the way the man was looking at him. It was as though he had a huge intention of hurting him. And with that man being Zaraki Kenpachi, the 11th division's Taicho, Toushirou had every right to be frightened.

The 11th division was known to be the most blood thirsty division in Seireitei. And as Kenpachi was their Taicho, he was the most blood thirsty, war loving, and most destructive man in Seireitei. He took pure pleasure in seeing someone die bleeding in his own hands.

His thoughts made him drift into a world of his own, but with a rough shake from Zaraki who seemed to notice that the he was drifting away in thought (like most of the time), Toshiro blinked down at the large man and then furrowed his brows.

"Za—" he was about to speak, until he was cut off by high pitched voice, making him wince.

"Shiro-chan Taicho is baaaaaaaaack from vacaattiioon!" Kusajishi Yarichu giggled, her bright pink hair popping up from behind the man's right shoulder. "Toldd ya he'd be back, Ken-chan!" she giggled once more as she fully rested on his shoulder, while looking up at the young man. Seconds later, she tilted his head, put her finger in her mouth in thought and blinked. "Shiro-chan changed, hasn't he Ken-chan?"

At that moment, he was agitated by how Zaraki had picked him up like some kind of child and by how Yachiru kept calling him Shiro-chan. "It's Hitsugaya Toushirou and not Shiro-chan!" growled Toshiro, making the girl giggle again. "And will you will let me down this instant, Zaraki!" fidgeted Hitsugaya, trying to escape the man's grasp.

With a raised brow, Kenpachi looked closer at the boy. Yachiru was right. The boy had indeed changed. He was much thinner than he used to be since his kimono looked too big for him. His hair looked longer and messier, and his eyes… His eyes were filled with sorrow, agony, memories of loved ones and anger. But right now, they screamed anger, which Zaraki liked so very much.

"Make me, kid." Kenpachi said, with a smug smirk. He knew the boy would do something once he called him a kid. Mostly everyone had been warned that the boy did not like to be called a child and it angered him to a point that the room's temperature would drop.

And that's what had happened.

The area's temperature dropped in a drastic measure. Kenpachi sensed this, but did not move a muscle. He instead looked at kid and smirked once he saw how his teal eyes were almost glowing with anger. This is what he wanted from the start. He wanted the boy to stop whining and fight him. It's been long since he had a good fight and the boy does need practice since he looks out of shape.

"Brrr!" shuddered Yachiru, as she sensed the temperature drop. " Ken-chaaaaaaaaaaan, it's collddd!" The pink haired child complained, as she rubbed her arms with her small hands while her teeth chattered from the cold.

"Cheh," grunted Zaraki, glancing at Yachiru with his one eye. "Yachiru, go back to the 11th division and play with Ikakku. I'll be staying here with our kid Taicho." Yachiru didn't want to do what Ken-chan had told her to, instead she jumped off his shoulder and jumped up on one of the tall buildings nearby to have a closer look.

"Stop. Calling. Me. A. Kid." Toushirou growled each word, making sure his words were clear to the older man. This was angering him. All he wanted was to walk alone, to have some time 

to think about the past and to figure out something's that had happened to him, especially the ice incident at the 4th division.

Acting at his will's desire, which is kicking the man right in the face, Toshiro swung his leg back and then forth with much strength and speed hoping to God that his kick will do a lot of damage to the point of letting him go.

Sadly, his leg was caught inches before it touched Zaraki's face by the man's other hand. "Haha," he laughed, his expression filled with amusement. "I didn't think you had the guts to do such a thing, kid. Guess I shouldn't judge people by their looks, huh?" The man laughed some more, making Toshiro angrier by the second.

The boy shut his eyes, trying his best to calm himself down. Anger was not a solution to this. Zaraki only wanted him to be angry, to provoke him to an action he'd regret and plus he wasn't worth his anger. He was a fool who looked for trouble, and was lucky enough to find Hitsugaya walking by himself.

"Put him down, Zaraki."

Opening his eyes, Hitsugaya was surprised to see Ukitake Jyuushirou standing behind Zaraki. The first thing he noticed about the white haired man was how his expression was emotionless. With a frown, Hitsugaya folded his arms and looked away. This was utterly ridiculous. There was no doubt that the man came to save him from Zaraki. That thought annoyed Toshiro, making him feel more like a child.

"Eh, Ukitake?" grunted Zaraki, keeping his eyes on the young man instead of looking back.

"I said put him down, Zaraki." Ukitake told him more clearly, taking a few steps forward. At that time, Hitsugaya didn't even bother looking back. He knew that Joshiro will help him out of the pickle he was in and he hated that fact.

"Heh," grunted Zaraki, finally turning around to face Ukitake. "Why? I'm enjoying myself with the kid," he paused, looking back at Hitsugaya who seemed to be irritated at the fact he 

was called a kid again. "And aren't you supposed to be back at the 13th division? You don't look good standing on your two feet. "

Ukitake gave the 11th division's captain a look that made him smirk. It was about time Ukitake gave him that look. It had been a look that was filled with annoyance, and possibly anger. Zaraki was sure getting bored in Seireitei since it had lacked action for a couple of months and being in front of an annoyed Taicho that at any moment could swing his zunpakuto at him was a little bit thrilling.

He was about to open his mouth to make another comment that would annoy Ukitake even more, until he felt something shivering under his hand. Looking back at Hitsugaya, he saw that the boy had wrapped himself in his own arms while his teeth chattered. Furrowing his brows Zaraki wondered if the boy was cold. And if he was, was it possible? The boy was known to withstand the cold at any temperature. So why did he look like he was cold?

"Zaraki!" called Ukitake in alarm.

As he glanced at Ukitake, he saw that the man's eyes were now replaced with worry instead of the annoyance they were filled with.

Before he could answer to the man's call, a burst of energy made him fly back and hit a wall. Zaraki grunted and rubbed the back of his neck before he looked up to see what had happened. And when he did, he was definitely surprised at what he found.

The kid, Hitsugaya, was surrounded by ice in a way he had never seen before. His whole body was covered with the ice in a spiral way. The ice looked like it had been there for a long time since the area they were in was covered in it, from the walls to the buildings to the ground. If Zaraki didn't know any better, he'd say he was in a plain of ice.

Standing on his two feet, Zaraki stared at the boy with amazement. His eyes weren't their normal teal anymore, instead they were white. He looked terrifying for sure since his hair was standing up as though there was a strong breeze going through it. But before Zaraki could react to such a thing, the ice surrounding Hitsugaya shattered.

It didn't take long for Hitsugaya to fall after the ice since his eyes closed and the breeze that seemed to be going through his hair stopped. Seeing that the boy was about to hit the ground, Zaraki watched as Ukitake shunpo-ed to be catch the boy, and thankfully he did.

Slowly, Ukitake placed Hitsugaya on the icy ground. "Shiro-chan," he worriedly whispered, looking at the boy to see if there was any damage inflected from that ice. But then his eyes caught something that made them widen with shock.

The dragon tattoo that was on Histugaya's wrist, the one Retsu had told them about was glowing. It's original black turned into a blinding white. It was, ironically as white as snow.

Carefully, he grabbed the sleeve of his kimono and pulled it to cover the tattoo as to not alarm Zaraki. The last thing Hitsugaya needed was more attention.

"Help me take him back to the 4th division, Zaraki." Ukitake calmly said as were eyes still on the young man. He didn't want Zaraki near the boy to be honest, but Jyoushiro knew he didn't have enough strength to carry him all the way back to the 4th division, even though the boy did seem lighter than he used to be.

Zaraki didn't protest, he merely did what Jyuushoriu told him to do and scooped up the skinny boy into his arms. Looking up, he saw Yachiru licking a lollipop and beaming down at him. God knows where that child got that candy, but at the moment it didn't matter to him.

"Zaraki," called out Jyuushirou as he had walked a few steps ahead.

"I'm coming."

--

Why was his head pounding so hard? Why did he feel like his body was set on fire? And why in hell did he feel like someone was breathing over him.

His eyes fluttered open to see a Matsumoto Rangiku face to face with him, their noses almost touching. Surprised, his eyes widened while he pulled away from the closeness he 

was in. "Matsumoto, what the hell are you doing?!" growled a cranky Hitsugaya while he rubbed his head as though he was easing its headache.

With a frown, Matsumoto sat up on her two knees and gave out a huff. "Don't get fussy with me, Taicho! I was just checking if you were still breathing and plus your fever was getting a bit higher!" She replied, looking away from Hitsugaya and instead looking at the door.

"Fever?" Asked a surprised Hitsugaya. So maybe that was the reason to why he felt like his body was burning up in an unbearable rate.

"Yes, you've been having a fever for the past two days, Taicho." Matsumoto coolly said, not wanting to show the Taicho how worried she was.

"Two days?"

Hesitating on whether to tell him or note, Matsumoto opened her mouth and spoke up, hoping her Taicho would keep cool head like always.

"Two days ago you froze up the room you were in, Taicho and you decided to walk it off. Ukitake-san told us he found you in the arms of Zaraki-san and it didn't take long until the area you three were in was covered in ice from another blast of your reaitsu. You were carried back into the 4th division by Zaraki-san who had followed Ukitake-san. Unohana-san was very worried about you, Taicho, because your fever kept going up and down an—"

"Stop, Matsumoto." Hitsugaya calmly said, cutting off the older woman. So that's what had happened. A blast of his reaitsu. It seems as though he can't handle his strong reaitsu anymore and this would be considered troublesome in Seireitei.

"Taicho…"

"And stop calling me Taicho, goddamn it!" growled the boy, annoyance in his tone. "I am not your Taicho anymore, Matsumoto! How many time do I have to tell you this?!"

"No matter how many times you tell me you are still my Taicho, Taicho!" snapped Matsumoto, getting sick of this silly game of theirs. Honestly, she didn't know her Taicho had such a thick head.

Gritting his teeth, he shut his eyes and tried to clear his mind of everything. In addition, he hoped Matsumoto would get a hint and leave him alone. It didn't take long before his silent request was granted; making him alone in the room he was in.

He was about to think about how his reaitsu managed to do the things that Matsumoto had just told him, but then he realized he was wasting his time and instead should recover.

With a deep sigh, Hitsugaya gave up on thinking and decided he should sleep instead and within a few seconds he had drifted into a long, dreamless sleep.

_I honestly hope you guys liked this chapter! Thanks for the awesome reviews! Love you all! :D_

_MWAH. _

_Until next chapter. lmfao. xD _


	8. Chapter 8

_Disclaimer: Nuu uuhh. Not miiineee._

_I'm just playing around with Hitsugaya till Kubo comes back D_

Two weeks.

That's how long it has been since he had the last reiatsu blast. The blast that he still did not know what triggered it. And now it seemed that it had finally melted away from what Matsumoto had told him amongst other things such as how she had quit drinking sake, which he knew was a total lie since Kyoraku came in moments later and asked her if she would accompany him to the 11th division where they hid the sake now. With a blush, Matsumoto muttered a goodbye to Hitsugaya and left him alone in his room. .He was left to wonder why it had taken that long for the ice to melt, after some officers from the 11th division tried to break it down with their zunpakuto's. And some officers from the 11th division meant men with great strength, but yet they couldn't break it.

Was it because of Hyorinmaru? Hitsugaya thought, staring up at the light blue skies of Seireitei . Hadn't the dragon told him that he would be with him no matter what happened in his dreams?

Perhaps the ice was caused by him. Perhaps the way Hitsugaya felt somewhat threatened by Zaraki triggered the dragon to cause such a mess.

That wasn't possible, was it? Hitsugaya had a feeling that the dragon had left him alone, and that he was all by himself. Even though the creature assured him by being by his side, he still felt empty. It just wasn't the same without his zunpakuto. It didn't seem right not to have the sword lying down next to him while he stared at the green fields that were in front of him.

Shaking his head to rid of those silly thoughts that kept roaming in his head, he turned his gaze back at the green field of the 4th division. For days he had been trying to get rid of this stress he was having. He felt there was something heavy on his shoulders that he had to get rid of. Hitsugaya tried to meditate many times, but it only made that stress go away for a few moments and it made him feel frustrated.

Meditating wasn't the same without his zanpakuto in front of him. He had always done it like that. Trying to fuse with the zunpakuto in a peaceful way and then being able to relax, knowing that his companion and his partner will always be with him. It will always be by his side. Now, he felt hopeless. He didn't have a zunpakuto at hand. So what was he supposed to do? He wasn't a Taicho anymore that was for sure, and that mere thought made him sour, but he quickly got over it since he knew he couldn't do anything about it.

Furrowing his brows, Hitsugaya realized that he still had reiatsu in him. What could he do with such a reiatsu when he didn't have a zunpakuto? It was hopeless.

_There's always kidou._

He didn't want to think about kidou since he didn't care about it. He always relied on his zunpakuto. He always relied on Hyorinmaru. And now they're both gone…

Looking down at his hands, the tattoo that had been always on his wrist for the past three years caught his eyes. Staring at it for a few moments, a thought popped up in his head. What if he could meditate with this tattoo? It was still a part of the dragon. Maybe. Hitsugaya wasn't quite sure himself, but the tattoo from the vibe gave out that it didn't hurt trying.

"I'm going to look so stupid," Hitsugaya muttered annoyingly under his breath.

Lifting up his wrist, he made sure he had eye contact with the tattoo and with a deep breath, he shut his eyes. He relaxed his muscles and also focused all of his positive energy towards the tattoo. It only took a few moments, but it worked since Hitsugaya felt like he was being pulled by his collar.

Suddenly, the temperature was colder than it had originally been. The atmosphere changed and it was so familiar, it calmed his nerves down for some strange reason.

_"Hitsugaya."_

Opening his eyes once he heard his name, he found himself facing the mighty ice creature. His red eyes were glued to Hitsugaya's teals as they silently stood for a few moments, looking at each other. It wasn't long before Hitsugaya opened his mouth to speak, but Hyorinmaru cut him off.

_"You seem tired, young one."_

The boy merely looked at the dragon, not knowing how to reply to him. What could he say anyway? That he was truly tired, or that he wasn't? Should he tell him how he had been feeling restless these past days? Frowning, Hitsugaya turned away from the dragon and instead looked at the plain of ice. The breeze that hit him was very welcoming as he took his time to sit down on the icy ground. Once he sat, Hitsugaya shut his eyes and took a few deep breaths to ease his tension. The dragon's breaths could be heard beside him as it came closer to his ear.

_"Know, young one." Hyorinmaru started with a whisper. " Know that I will always be there if, and if only you call on me." _

When Hitsugaya was about to reply to the dragon, he felt like he was being pulled back by his collar in the same way he had appeared on the plain.

--

"Taicho!"

Hitsugaya didn't realize he was being shaken in such a roughly manner until he saw Matsumoto's assets inches away from touching his nose.

"Ma—Matsumoto, get away from me!" he stammered, trying to pull away from her tight grasp as his cheeks reddened to the humility he was facing. How could he be in such a position again?! When he was a captain, he sometimes faced this problem. Hitsugaya wasn't ashamed to admit it, but he knew he was short. And with his height, he knew he had to face some difficulties, especially with his fuku-taicho. Sometimes, when he stood up from his chair, he'd bump into Matsumoto's assets and fall on his back while she'd laugh at what 

happened and run off wanting to gossip amongst the women of soul society of how cute was the ex- 10th division's Taicho's face was when he blushed after bumping into her assets.

Stopping, Matsumoto let go of Hitsugaya and took a step back. Her eyes were filled with worry as she studied the boy closely. He didn't look hurt or shocked, but he didn't look like he remembered what just happened now. With a deep sigh, Matsumoto placed her palm on the boy's forehead, seeing if he had a fever.

"Matsumoto?" Hitsugaya called, his tone showing how annoyed he was.

"Yes, Taicho?"

"What are you doing?" he questioned, his right brow raised. Matsumoto better not be doing what he thinks she's doing.

Taking her hand palm away from his forehead and placing it on her lap, she tilted her head and frowned. "Ahhh, Taciho what does It look like I'm doing?! I'm checking if you have a fever, silly!"

As his eye twitched, Hitsugaya balled his hands into fists. "Fever, Matsumoto?! Do I look like a child to you for you to check my own fever?! Did I even ask you, Matsumoto?!" he hissed, giving her a deathly glare.

"Ohhh, Taicho! You shouldn't use that tone towards me after what I've done! I've been worried and what happened to you just a few moments ago was terrifying! I was about to call Unoha—"

But before Matsumoto could finish her sentence, Hitsugaya cut her off by raising his hand. "Wait one moment. What happened just a few moments ago, Rangiku?" He questioned with great interest in mind. All he knew about what happened was that he had been in that plain of ice with Hyorinmaru again.

"Well, it's a long story Taicho and I—"

"Matsumoto." Hitsugaya insisted, his eyes on hers.

"Okay, if you wish. I just finished doing some paperwork (At that Hitsugaya raised his brow and wondered if he was hit in the head real hard or was he still in that plain of ice with Hyorinmaru fooling around with him as some kind of test) and I decided to visit you! So I walked out of the 10th division and headed towards the 4th. Once I came in here I searched for you in your room, but some 10th seat officer told me that you're outside on the porch. When I came you had your back at me and your wrist was raised up to your eye level. I thought you were playing a game with yourself so I thought I'd see what game you were playing. When I faced you, Taicho I gasped!" Matsumoto exclaimed, getting excited with her story.

"Your eyes were white, Taicho! It was really scary and you didn't even notice me, but you kept your eyes, I think, on that wrist of yours and when I decided to look at what you were looking at, and I saw the dragon tattoo that's on your wrist glowing! At that moment I knew I had to do something, so I called your name and you didn't answer. I poked you and you didn't answer so I just shook you and here we are."

Here they were indeed, he thought. Hitsugaya knew nothing was going wrong. He knew where he had been that whole time, but he didn't know it would make such an effect on him. Sighing, he gazed at the green field of the 4th division, wondering why such a thing would happen to him. Why did this tattoo appear instead of his zunpakuto? Hitsugaya had many questions to ask, but he didn't know who the right person was to ask. If he asked Kurotsuchi about it, he knew he'd end up in his lab being tested on a as a specimen. No, he wouldn't want that to happen to him.

Who would he ask then?

Hitsugaya pondered on that thought until he came to one conclusion. There was only one person who could figure out what was wrong with him.

Urahura Kisuke.

Running a hand through his white hair, he thought about how he could get to human world. He would need a hell butterfly to get there, but he knew he couldn't just ask for one. Matsumoto would pull him by the ear if he asked for one as if she was acting like a mother and Unohana would tell him he wasn't well enough to go there.

"Taicho?"

As Matsumoto's voice shook him out of his trance, he turned his head and faced her. She seemed worried as she gave him the "you're worrying me" look. Sometimes, that look made him feel like a child, but at times he liked it. This wasn't that time.

"Matsumoto," replied Hitsugaya, not keen on knowing what Matsumoto has in mind.

She seemed hesitant, but that did not stop her from speaking her mind. "Tai—taicho," she started, taking her eyes off the young boy. "You know Taicho… I never thought you'd be back. It never crossed my mind. You were," Matsumoto paused, swallowing the lump that appeared. "You died, Taicho. I—I saw it with my two eyes when Gin pierced his zanpakutou through your chest," she sniffed, rubbing her eyes as to prevent her tears from rolling down her cheeks. "Look at silly me!" Matsumoto dryly laughed, trying to ease the atmosphere while she rubbed more of her tears. "Crying over something that never happened. I'm so silly, aren't I Taicho?"

Hitsugaya stared, not knowing what to say, not knowing what to do. Did his disappearance inflect this pain over his fukutaicho? It seemed to as she was almost crying in front of him. Honestly, he didn't know he had this much affect on Matsumoto. It was probably because of how she sees him as her little brother, someone she should have protected on that day. Hitsugaya felt bad at that moment, making him look back at the field.

They silently sat on the porch, waiting for one of them to start speaking again. Although, Matsumoto knew Hitsugaya could stay days without a word. It was his nature, his cold and icy nature.

In the past, Matsumoto recalled that no one dared to approach Hitsugaya-Taicho. His icy teal eyes, white snow like hair and cold attitude imitated people. The only ones that weren't afraid of Hitsugaya were the other Taichos, herself and Hinamori-chan.

_Hinamori…_

Turning her gaze on the young boy who seemed to be in his own world, she frowned. Rangiku knew the boy loved Hinamori, but he didn't love her in the "I want to cherish you as mine" kind of way. He loved her as a sister. She was his sister, his only family other than his grandmother and now she was gone, just like his grandmother is gone. Hitsugaya was now alone in Seireitei.

Stupid girl had hurt him from the day she left for Shinigami Academy. Rangiku liked Hinamori, even though the girl did some hurtful things towards Hitsugaya. She remembered the day she met the boy as though it was yesterday, and chuckled as how ironically he became her Taicho.

It was like any day, she remembered. Rangiku went into Rukongai to get her some things, including sake. As she was done with her shopping, she noticed a man putting the change on the counter, and not giving it to the young white haired boy. Furious, she approached the man and shouted at him and then shouted at the boy for not standing up for himself. The two got into a huge argument and then…

And then she felt it.

It was such a strong, cold reiatsu. Never in her life had she felt a reiatsu like his. It was uncontrollable, Matsumoto noticed, making her shout after the boy to come back. But he ran as far as he could to get out of her sight.

Matsumoto was determined to find the young boy and tell him that he should go to the Shinigami Academy and learn to control his reiatsu as it may hurt the people around him.

And in one night, it almost did.

It was in the middle of the night when she felt his reiatsu leaking. Rangiku knew she shouldn't waste her time just drinking sake, even though she wanted to, instead she shunpo-ed from one roof to another, until she found the boys' whereabouts. It was a house in 

Junrinan and Rangiku couldn't help but open the door and walk into the house. The reiatsu was getting stronger as she moved around in the house. Once she found the room where she saw two bodies lying on the ground, Rangiku gaped as she found an old lady that laid down next to the boy, frozen. Was this from the boy? And if it was, was it intended?

Well, of course it isn't.

Lightly shaking her head, she took a few steps and sat down next to the boy. As she was about to shake him up from the nightmare he seemed to be having , the boy opened his eyes, and was surprised to see her.

His icy teal eyes looked into hers. She rarely saw the look his eyes gave. It was a frightened looked. A look that could tell anyone that the boy was uncertain with himself, that he was lost and that he didn't understand what was happening to him.

Getting back to the reality she was in, Matsumoto turned to face Hitsugaya, whose eyes were still on the field ahead. She studied him for a few moments, until she realized he had that look. That same look he gave her when they first met.

"Matsumoto." Hitsugaya spoke, the look in his eyes disappearing. A few moments back, he seemed like he had been in thought. But what was he thinking about, wondered Matsumoto.

"Yes, Taicho?"

"I—"

"Shiro-chan," someone called, interrupting Hitsugaya from saying what he wanted to say. Turning around, he saw that it was Ukitake who called him. The man's warm smile assured Matsumoto that nothing was wrong.

With deep breath and one twitch in his brows, Hitsugaya looked up and tried his best to smile at the older man. "Yes, Ukitake-taicho?"

"If you could please join me in my quarters for a little chat, of course if Matsumoto-san doesn't mind." Ukitake smiled, looking down at Matsumoto who shook her head.

"I don't mind at all," she smiled, flipping her hair with her right hand.

"Shiro-chan?"

Rubbing his temples, annoyed by the fact the man kept calling him 'Shiro-cha' , Hitsugaya stood up and then looked up at the white haired man. "It's Hitsugaya, Ukitake-taicho and not Shiro-chan."

"Whatever you say, Shiro-chan."

With another twitch, Hitsugaya and Ukitake walked away, leaving Matsumoto alone on the porch of the 4th division.

* * *

_Yay! :D I really did take my time writing this. lmao. XD But I kind of enjoyed Matsumo's small flashback._

_Comments are welcomed! _


	9. Chapter 9

_Author's Note: Hey guys! It's me, Lizzie. I am SO sorry I haven't posted up anything yet, life's been tough lately. Just to let you know that I am still going to continue writing this and I hope you guys are still excited about this story. I'll try my best to finish the next chapter as soon as possible. Thank you for you patience! I love you! _


	10. Chapter 10

_FINALLY! It took me ages to finish this! I know it's really short and I'm really sorry for taking long. _

_You know how school can be tormenting, right? x.x_

_Anyway, enjoy! _

They were silently sitting in the middle of the room as each of them was holding a cup of green tea, silently sipping time away. Hitsugaya wasn't bothered by how they were spending their time. In fact, he enjoyed it and he hoped it was going to last for a long time. Ukitake, however, didn't feel comfortable in this silence. In the past, he was used to listening to Kaien's laughter, jokes, and sometimes complaints. These days he was used to having his two 3rd seats fighting over who is best at whatever they were fighting about.

But this, he wasn't used to this at all. Complete silence. Ukitake admitted that it was somewhat relaxing, although, it was a bit nerve wrecking in his case. He didn't know how Hitsugaya could handle such silence at his age. If Ukitake could remember, at Hitsugaya's age, he was running around, acting like the child he was. And then it hit him. Hitsugaya wasn't a child. He did have a child's body, but a grown man's brain. It was as though his thoughts and his attitude was of a man older than Ukitake himself. Frowning at the thought of Hitsugaya being mentally older than him, he lifted up his cup of tea and sipped from it. After then, he smiled at the teal eyed boy before starting up a conversation.

"How have you been so far, Shiro-chan?"

Ukitake noticed that Hitsugaya almost choked on his green tea as he called him by his nickname. He chuckled at the way the boy still hated that pet name of his. It wasn't a surprise he still hated it, he thought scratching his chin. Maybe now he hated it more than ever. It was a possibility because of the person who gave him that pet name had died. If he was in Hitsugaya's shoes, he'd hate that name too.

Taking deep breaths as to ease the coughs that had started, Hitsugaya looked at the older man with teary eyes. "I've been better," he coughed, rubbing the tears away as his breaths started to calm down. It was all Ukitake's fault that he was coughing. If he hadn't called him by that name, he wouldn't have been like this. Coughing and tearing up. What would the man think of him now?

"I see." Ukitake calmly replied, his smile making Hitsugaya a bit uneasy. For some reason, Toushiro had a feeling that the smile was of for sympathy. The man felt sorry for him no doubt, he gloomily thought, his brows frowned. Everyone's been giving him a smile of that kind, Hitsugaya realized. Everyone felt sorry for him for being held at Hueco Mundo as a prisoner, a toy, something the Arrancar and Espada will enjoy them selves with.

"Ukitake-taicho," he started, his voice filled with respect he had for the man. "If you don't mind me asking, what is my business here? What do you want from me?"

The man's smile grew, he noticed. Was he going to reply? Was he going to give him a forward answer? Or was he going to give him an answer that will keep him thinking for days? It was hard to figure out what was going through Ukitake's head. Actually, now he that he thought about it, it's hard to figure out what's going in his own head.

"Can't I sit with one of my old friends, Shiro-chan?" Ukitake asked, on the verge of chuckling.

three...two...one...

Twitch.

"Yes, you can." Hitsugaya replied with his teeth clenched. "But if you please stop calling me Shiro-chan, Ukitake-taicho."

"Only if you stop calling me Ukitake-taicho, Shiro-chan." Ukitake smirked, placing the tea down and then crossing his arms as though he was challenging the young man. Truth be told, Ukitake had missed this. And by this he meant the times he would act like a child himself and challenge Shiro-chan to something so ridiculous.

With a deep sigh, Hitsugaya raised his brow. The man was serious, wasn't he? He wondered, looking at him while thinking about it. In the end, he lowered his head and simply gave up. It was pointless to act like a man or be a man around Ukitake.

"Alright, fine." Hitsugaya muttered, placing down his cup of tea. "Ukitake Tai--kun," he stuttered, reminding himself to not call him a taicho. "Why am I here?"

"I have told you, Hitsugaya-kun. I only invited you here because I consider you to be one of my old friends." Ukitake sincerely smiled.

Hitsugaya didn't believe him. He knew something was up. Ukitake never invited Hitsugaya to his quarters unless it was something serious and important. Narrowing his eyes, he intertwined his hands and tried to think of why Ukitake would want him here with him. Unless...

"Is this about the other day, Ukitake-kun?"

The man wasn't taken aback from the question, it was as though he had expected it from the young prodigy. Of course, the boy was smart enough to know he wasn't brought here for only catching up. Ukitake tried to ignore the fact that he wanted to ask Hitsugaya many things, and only tried to focus on trying to get things back to normal. Only he had realized that nothing was normal anymore. "Yes. Yes, it is."

With a sigh, the young boy looked away from Ukitake. "Well, if you think I know what happened then you are surely mistaken." He coldly told him, the temperature levels around them gradually dropping. Why did everyone think that he had something to do with what was happening to him? That he was controlling whatever this thing was?! It was frustrating, it was annoying, it was--

"Toushiro!"

Blinking at Ukitake's sudden class, it took him a few moments to realize what he had done. The wooden floor beneath him was now covered in ice. It looked like a shining glass if it weren't so cold. What was this? Where had this come from? It couldn't be from him. No, he wasn't able to do such a thing. Thinking about it some more, he had done something similar to this, but he wasn't conscious at that time, was he?

While he was thinking this over, Ukitake was looking down onto the ice beneath him. Amazing. This all happened in a blur. The ice quickly covered the floors when Hitsugaya seemed a bit bothered, Ukitake concluded, looking at the boy who seemed to be thinking over about what had just happened. What could have provoked this? He thought, placing the tea onto the icy floor.

Hitsugaya looked up and noticed that the man was looking straight at him. He quickly pulled away from his gaze, not wanting to look into the eyes of the older man. "I'm... sorry," he whispered, feeling very confused about the matter. "It'll be a whi--"

He was cut off when Ukitake lifted his hand up to silence him. The man smiled warmly at the boy and shook his head. "Don't worry about it, Hitsugaya-kun. It's nice to have a cold breeze at a time like this. God knows my division will be thrilled about this!" He laughed, making Hitsugaya a bit uneasy. How could he be laughing when he had frozen his floor? If he were Ukitake, he'd be shocked. He'd try to figure out what was happening with himself, and that's what Hitsugaya intended to do.

"Um..."

"If you want to leave, be my guest. "Ukitake smiled, Looking over his shoulder to have a look at the door. "I would be a bit upset though. But I can't force you to stay and have a chat with me, now can I?"

"No, no you can't." Hitsugaya whispered, his eyes on the ice. But then at that very moment, something else happened. Something he never expected.

It was glowing.

Feeling panicked and afraid that something more serious would happen, the white haired boy stood up and ran out of the room. He didn't dare to look back at Ukitake. Although, he had a feeling the man was going to follow him no matter what.

At that thought, Hitsugaya realized he needed to go somewhere no one could find him. Somewhere he only knew.

And then, it clicked.

With a quick shunpo, and a call from Ukitake, Hitsugaya disappeared


	11. Chapter 11

_Hello everyone! :D I hope you are all well and thank you SO much for the _

_reviews! It made me feel like I'm on a cloud. Hehehe. _

_ANYYYWAY! My finals are coming up so this would be my LAST chapter BEFOOORE summer! :D _

_I can promise you that I will write like CRAZY when it's summer! :D I'll have much more_

_time to write. Hehehe. _

_Hope you enjoy this chapter! :D_

_EXCLAIMER: I don't own ANYTHING. Except for my head. I own that. _

He stood there, staring at the orange sky. It was sunset and he had been there since god knows when. All this time he was thinking about what happened to him and why had it happened. His thoughts sometimes drifted away and for a moment or two, he was blank. Hitsugaya was grateful that he went blank at those moments, although, sometimes he thought of Matsumoto and how he had missed her these past three years. And at other moments he thought about Hinamori. Her smile, her laugh, the nickname she gave him.

As he heaved, he kept looking at the sky, remembering the days where Hinamori and himself would sit by the porch, eating watermelons. She would talk about how marvelous the academy was and he'd make remarks and call her "Bed wetter". At times, though, they'd sit there, silently eating their watermelons while staring at the horizon.

And now that was no more. No more watermelons. No more sitting together. No more Bed Wetter. Hitsugya ran a hand through his hair at that thought. Just thinking about her made him think about her death. Balling his hands into fists, Hitsugaya looked away from the horizon wanting to forget about her death. But he couldn't. Back when he was in Hueco Mundo, he tried to forget everything because somewhere deep inside of his soul, he knew he wouldn't come back to Seireitei and be around the people he held so dearly to his heart.

Thinking about it, Hitsugaya realized that at some point he hated himself. He gave a dry chuckle as he thought about it some more. He hated himself because of how he got caught so easily. He hated himself for leaving everyone behind. For letting everyone think he was dead. If it wasn't for the wall that had fell and the illusion Aizen pulled off, he wouldn't have gotten caught. He wouldn't have broken Hyorinamru. He wouldn't be in the mess he was in right now.

As he thought more of the mess, he looked away from the sky and placed his eyes onto the ground. What would have happened to him if he weren't caught? Would he still be alive? He'd probably still be the 10th Division's Taicho. With a sigh, he ran a hand through his white hair, trying to calm himself down.

It was hard.

It was hard to calm down.

He wasn't panic. He was merely flustered about everything that was happening. Especially the thing that was happening to him. Hesitantly, Hitsugaya moved his gaze from the ground to his wrist where the dragon tattoo was. It had stopped glowing once he had reached this place. Maybe because he considered this place as his comfort place. Smiling weakly at that thought, he looked back up at the sky remembering the days he'd come up here alone just to think. Ever since he was in the Academy he'd come here since it was closer than his old home. After his Grandmother died, he couldn't bear going back there alone. And Momo was already working in the 5th Division to satisfy her Taicho.

Suddenly, he clutched his head from the pain that had suddenly erupted and fell onto his knees. His eyes watered as his hands pressed some more onto his head, trying to cease the pain. Why was this happening?! What was happening?!

And then... all was black.

--

"He's been gone for a while, hasn't he?"

"Indeed he has. But you know Hitsugaya-kun. He can handle himself very well."

"Yes... Yes, I think you're right."

This conversation was between two men. Ukitake and Kyoraku were sitting down in front of each other, a pot of tea between the two old friends. It had been merely hours ago that Hitsugaya had fled and left Ukitake alone, making him feel restless. He had this urge to help the young boy, but he couldn't do anything. He felt so helpless. As he sat alone, staring at his tea pot, Kyoraku slid the door open and blinked at his old friend. In seconds, the man sat with his friend and kept him company, trying to let him forget about the white haired young boy.

"Honestly, you shouldn't worry about the boy. He was the 10th division's Taicho! I know he could handle himself very well," said a confident Kyoraku to his dear friend.

But something wasn't right. Ukitake couldn't put his finger on it, but something was certainly not right.

Kyoraku seemed to noticed how distressed his friend seemed and sighed. How was he going to convince him that the boy is perfectly and that h--

Both men's eyes widened at the sudden change of the atmosphere. Something was poking at their chests, telling them that something had gone terribly wrong. Looking back at each other, worry shown in their eyes, they took off without any hesitation.

--

"Dear heavens..."

Both men stood merely feets away from a trembling body of a young haired boy. Crystal ice enveloped the place surrounding them. The ground, the trees and if it was possible, even the sky looked like it had been covered by ice.

Ukitake dared to take a step before he was stopped by his dear friend. Looking up at him with determined eyes, he his arm away from his grasp and faced him. "Why are you holding me off?! You can clearly see he needs our help, Kyoraku!" Ukitake hissed, looking back at the trembling boy.

Never had he seen him so...

Vulnerable.

Something deep in his stomach twisted, making him feel very sick. From the day he had met the boy never did he get sick. He had never gotten weak. Injured, maybe. But he would fight it off. Or try to hide it so very well.

This time. This time it was different. He was curled up in a ball, his eyes shut, his hands pressing his head as though he had been fighting off something so very painful. He looked like a complete mess. And Ukitake didn't like this. He didn't like it one bit.

"Hitsugaya!" He hollered, forgetting about his friend and stepping onto the ice.

It all happened so fast and before he knew it, the lower part of his body was frozen in solid ice. "Tech," he grunted while Kyoraku called out for him in concern. "Don't!" Ukitake warned, before his friend stepped onto the ice and suffer the same consequence. It was a good thing he had his zunpakuto out already.

With all of his might, Ukitake charged his zunpakuto at the ice that had frozen him. His eyes widened in shock as he saw that the ice didn't even have one scratch on it. It was as though that charge didn't even happen. Raising his head, he saw Hitsugaya, trembling even more than he had been trembling before.

What was wrong with him? Why was he trembling?

Of course...

"Kyoraku-kun!" Ukitake called, looking back at his friend who tried to charge at the ice as well.

"Go get Matsumoto and tell her everything! Quick before it's too late!"

And by that he meant before the ice eats him up.


	12. Chapter 12

_OH YAY! Ahaha another chapter! I'm so happy I managed to finish this. It isn't very well written_

_I'm a bit disappointed if you ask me. But since I just got off for summer I've been around _

_and such so.. yeah. Ahaha. _

_Hope you guys enjoy this! _

_Exclamation: I DUN OWN DIS. Alllll owned by Kubo Tite_

Bright light slowly snaked its way into the 10th division's office, hitting onto its captains hair. The strawberry blonde haired captain lazily raised her head and looked at the door, wondering when she'd be finished with this paperwork. To this day she hated doing the paperwork. She never got how her Taicho liked doing the paperwork. She remembered at somedays she'd see him doing paperwork for some other divisions. It would exhaust him, true. But he enjoyed it.

Sigh.

Looking down at what was left of the paperwork, she frowned. Matsumoto had a lot left to do. Grabbing the first paper in front of her, she pulled it up to read it until the door was opened, making her a bit annoyed. Who'd open a door without knocking?! Really.

"Matsumoto!"

Raising her head she saw Kyoraku-Taicho, panic masking his face. She knew, deep inside that something was horribly wrong. And it was about Hitsugaya. She was sure about this. Why would he be here? (other than drink with her, but that's another matter)

"Kyoraku-Taicho," she managed to say, standing up and placing her hands on the desk, her eyes filled with worry. "What brings you here? I hope it has noth--" She was cut off since the man walked up to her and placed his hands on the desk, trying to catch his breath.

"Matsumoto. Ukitake. Hitsugaya. Trouble." He managed to breathe, looking up at her with a desperate look. "Ukitake, he's frozen in ice and Hitsugaya... we don't know what's wrong. Come quickly! Ukitake called for you. Come on, I don't think we have much time."

Matsumoto was already out of the door as she felt a certain reaitsu increase to a very worrying level.

--

Meanwhile, the ice had reached Ukitake's shoulders leaving only his head left to be frozen. Frankly, he never thought he'd be panicked over something like this. Not only because his life would be over, but also because of Hitsugaya. The boy looked horribly sick. He'd never seen him like this. The boy was shivering badly and his skin paled a deadly white. He seemed to be in pain since his face was cringed. This worried Ukitake. It worried him very much.

His eyes widened in horror as the boy shouted a no, his hands clutching onto his head some more. What was going on in the boy's head? Ukitake couldn't wonder since all of his attention was focused on the boy's welfare. How he hoped Kyoraku would hurry up.

"Jyuoshirou!"

He knew his prayers had been heard the moment Kyoraku's voice shook him out of whatever he was in. Ukitake tried to look over his shoulder, but with the position he was in, it was impossible.

"Ukitake-taicho!" Gasped a woman's voice that unmistakably belonged to Matsumoto Rangiku. Thank the lords Matsumoto was here. She was the only one who knew Hitsugaya the best. She could probably take the boy out of whatever he was in.

"Don't step on the ice!" He called, sensing that Matsumoto was about to place her foot on the ice plain, ready to march up to the boy prodigy. Ukitake didn't want her to regret what she was about to do. He couldn't let her do it. Not in a million years. "The ice will eat you up, Matsumoto! Don't step on it! Just, my god, just find a way to get him out of whatever he's in! And fast!" Ukitake told her, sensing the ice starting to cover his neck.

Matsumoto looked up from Uktiake and saw the young boy. As she did so, she felt her heart break into a million pieces. What was happening with him? What had they done to him in Hueco Mundo? Tears rolled down her cheeks as she watched her taicho .

Suddenly, the small body she was seeing stopped. It now laid there, as though it was dead while all the ice vanished, as though it wasn't there. Ukitake stood there, his eyes as wide as eggplants. What...? How...?

"The ice..." Kyoraku murmured, kneeling on the ground to touch it. It wasn't wet from the ice that had covered it. What was this?! There was ice covering the whole ground! Thick, crystal like ice! Where did it all go?! Looking up at Ukitake, Kyoraku expected his friend would give him a rational explanation to all of this. But instead, his friends' eyes were on the young boy, lying on the ground.

Ukitake took a few steps, making sure that this wasn't a trick before he ran towards the boys side. Many thoughts ran through his mind. Nothing was making sense. All of this wasn't making sense! The ice, the scream, the huge burst of reaitsu. What did it all mean?

As he was about to touch the young boy, to wake him up somehow, Hitsugaya's teal eyes opened, seeming shocked, maybe even scared.

"Shiro-chan?" He whispered, trying to look into the boy's eyes. "Shiro-chan, are you alright?" There was a long pause before the boy replied, and when he did, Ukitake's heart felt like it was broken into a million little pieces.

"Nooo," he moaned, trying to lift his arms up to protect his face. "Enough, please! No more, please." At that time, he broke into tears. Ukitake looked up to see Matsumoto looking heartbroken and Kyoraku looking horrified. Matsumoto quickly kneeled down beside Ukitake, held Hitsugaya close to her and started to rock back and forth, brushing her fingers into his hair, trying to soothe him.

It was after sometimes his breaths calm down. Even though her clothes were wet now, she didn't care. All she cared about was her Taicho. Looking down at the young boy, she felt hopeless. He was sound asleep. He looked like nothing had ever troubled him in his life. He looked... innocent.

Looking up at both men as tears started to roll down her cheeks again, she sniffed.

"We will not speak of this to anyone. I'm going to take him back to the tenth division to rest up," she murmured, standing up with the young boy in her arms, looking exhausted. "I'll contact you both once he wakes up."

With a nod from both men, she shunpo'd away and headed towards the tenth division where she'd lay Hitsugaya on a comfortable bed.


	13. Chapter 13

_I am SO sorry for taking os long to reply to this! _

_You guys are awesome for being so faithful and all! It makes me really happy. _

_Anyyywayyy I was really busy I turned 17! :D YAY! Ahaha. I went to check up on some_

_colleges and stufffff and yeah that's why I've been busy! But I sat down today and wrote what I intended to write_

_and violla! :D I hope you guys like it. Hehehe. TA TAA! And enjoy! Oh! And EXCLAIMER Not mine. All Tite-san's. _

"What do you want me to do with him?! I can't shake it off of him, Ukitake! I don't know what's going on. He won't tell me anything and I'm worried—I'm—Oh god," she sobbed, feeling someone pulling her in so that they may hold her.

It had been only a few days after Hitsugaya's second blast of ice as Ukitake had started to call. The boy woke up two days after what had happened and didn't speak to anyone. He didn't respond to any calls from him or from Matsumoto who was worrying herself about him to death. The old man tried to speak to the boy more than the once, but he would just blankly stare at him. It was as though the Hitsugaya he had known was gone.

"Shhh, Matsumoto." He cooed, trying his best to calm the young woman down. She didn't deserve this, he thought sadly. No one deserved to see someone they loved stare at them blankly as though they were lost into another world forever. As though their soul was ripped away from them and what was left was their body.

The blonde burst into tears and clung onto Ukitake for support as her legs couldn't hold her up any longer. For the past two days she had been trying to get Hitsugaya to speak to her. Even if it was a snap from him, telling her to get a hold of herself. Nothing. She couldn't get anything out of him. His teal eyes just stared at her blankly. The boy she had loved was lost forever. Matsumoto wasn't giving up on him, though. She was positive that her taicho was in there somewhere, trying to get out from whatever prison his mind pulled up.

"What should I do?" She sniffed after sometime. "I can't take it anymore, Ukitake. I can't take staring at his eyes and… not see him. I just can't. It's too hard."

The man merely sighed and rubbed his brow in frustration. They had tried talking to the boy, telling him everything, but alas nothing was successful.

"Let's just leave him. Ma—"

"No!" She cut him off. At the very moment Matsumoto was wearing an expression that looked like someone had just slapped her across the face. Hard.

"Listen to me, Rangiku. Maybe he just needs time to think. You know how he loves to think." He smiled weakly. He remembered how the boy would sit in his office for hours and think about various things. One, not to his shock, was about paperwork and how he'd make the process easier.

The blonde stared at the older man and finally gave in with a weak nod. She didn't have any other option, anyway. Only a few moments ago she complained to Ukitake that she did everything. Would it hurt to try this one idea?

--

He didn't want to speak. He didn't want to look into their eyes. He didn't want to do anything with them. He just wanted to be left alone to think, to figure out what happened to him, and to question Hyorinmaru about it.

His head turned to face the door. Hm. It had been approximately 23 minutes since anyone knocked onto the door. Did this mean they have left him to be? Left him to think alone? If that's what had truly happen, then he couldn't be any happier.

Hitsugaya waited for a few more minutes before he started what he had planned the moment he woke up from his sleep. He eyed the door when more time has passed and decided that it would be best to start now. He'd have to block the door first to not let his concentration break.

Shutting his eyes, the prodigy started to focus on blocking the door. On having a block of ice on the door, preventing anyone to come inside. Taking a deep breath, he pushed out all of his energy to do this task, hoping it would work. Instantly, he felt a shiver run through his vines, letting a small gasp fall from his lips leading to his eyes to open.

This wasn't what he wanted to do, but it was close.

The whole room was covered in ice. It didn't even look like a room anymore, it was more similar to a cave now. Shards of ice hanging from the ceiling while the ground was covered in a smooth layer of ice.

"Great," he murmured, standing up on his two feet. How will they get rid of this now? It'll take them weeks to get rid of this ice. Sighing, he turned around to see what more he had done and was shocked to see the dragon facing him.

"Hyorinmaru? H-How?" He asked, his eyes wide. The boy didn't expect the dragon to be here, facing him. He thought he would face him only in his dreams, not in reality.

Maybe this was an illusion. Maybe the dragon he was facing wasn't real. Just something he had imagined and somehow appeared in front of him. Yeah, that sounded rational. Of course. Hitsugaya still didn't feel convinced by what he thought, so he reached out to touch the dragon's nose. Instead, he felt a cold rush run through his body as the dragon gave a strong huff.

"_You wanted me here, young one."_ The dragon replied, leaning into Hitsugaya to have their eyes meet. "_You have been calling me for days. Although, I couldn't come out. You weren't comfortable. And since you are now, I have come out._" He explained, his red eyes glistening.

The boy merely stared at the dragon and then something bright caught his eyes. He looked down to see that his tattoo was glowing yet again. "What is this?!" He frantically asked, showing the dragon his tattoo. "Every time this happens," he paused, shoving the thing in his face, " everything goes bad!" Hitsugaya exclaimed, his eyes darting around the room, hoping that the shards of ice wouldn't fall on him.

"_I thought you were smarter than that, Toushiro." _Smirked the dragon, pulling away from him. Looking down at the boy with his shining red eyes, Hyorinmaru spoke saying, "_What is on your wrist is the only thing that makes us connect now. You zumpakuto was lost in battle, but I wasn't. I will still run through your viens, Hitsugaya Toushiro. I am as much a part of you as you are a part of me. _"

Hitsugaya stared at the dragon and then back at the tattoo. So this is why he was transported to that field of ice with Hyorinmaru with him. He couldn't believe he didn't realize this until now when he had pointed it out to him. It made sense.

"But… what about th—"

"_Ahhh. I cannot help you with that, young one."_ The dragon cut off, knowing what he was going to ask. "_You must train yourself so that you may be able to control your bursts of energy. The more you train, Hitsugaya, the more we become powerful. Remember, I will always be beside you, young one." _

With those last words, the dragon disappeared along with the ice surrounding them. It was as though they have never existed. Hitsugaya fell on his knees in disbelief and the looked down at his wrist. So this is how he'd connect with Hyorinmaru. Or how the dragon would connect with him.

"Taaaiiiichoooo," a happy voice called, opening the door. Hitsugaya doing as he always did when someone called for him, looked behind him to see who had called him (It was probably Matsumoto) .

His guess was right.

Sigh.

Hitsugaya looked at Matsumoto. Her cheeks were redder than usual and her eyes seemed unfocused. Blinking, he realized she must have been drinking. So this explained why no one sat with him and try to talk to him. Kyoraku was probably drinking with her while Ukitake rested in the 13th division because of his illness.

"I don't care if you sit and sulk here all day, Taicho! I am taking you out!" Matsumoto giggled, snapping him out of the trance he was in. She grabbed onto his arm when he wasn't willing to. But since she was bigger and drunk, he let her have her way. She held onto him tightly and then ran outside of the door before he could even ask her where they were going.

Hitsugaya had a feeling this wasn't going to be good… not one bit.


	14. Chapter 14

_I am super sorry that this next chapter is shorter than the rest._

_I am also sorry that this is a VERY late update._

_I am so sorry for making you all wait._

_I hope you enjoy it! _

_DISCLAIMER: Everythin' ain't mine._

* * *

His feelings were right as always.

Teal wide eyes looked around his surroundings, making sure no one would step on him (As it had happened the past four times). Why in the world did Matsumoto bring him here?! He didn't want to be around anyone at the moment! In fact, the other shinigamis weren't supposed to know he was alive.

But he was glad he was in a bar, where almost everyone was a drunken fool, and where everyone would think he's just something they imagined up while they were drunk.

Ahh the wonders of sake.

Hitsugaya leaned on the wall and gave a weary sigh when he saw Matsumoto waving her sake around and laughing. The white haired boy grumbled at her action and looked down at his feet. He wanted to leave at this instant. He wasn't enjoying himself, nor was he interested in seeing people get drunk.

"Damn it," he muttered under his breath as he pushed himself off of the wall and headed towards the door to leave. Matsumoto seemed to be enjoying herself far too much. Why should he intrude on her happiness?

As he was a few feet away from the door, someone grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him back with such ferocity that he swore he flew in the air for two seconds, landing on his back with a groan. "Damn you, Madamare" He glowered once he sat up and looked at the man who pulled him back. The bald man merely grinned at the man and lifted up his sake, drinking it all at once.

Hitsugaya felt disgusted by what he was doing. He should just leave this place and go back to the tenth division. But he soon remembered that he didn't have an office at the tenth division anymore. He merely had a room at the fourth division. Unohana-Taicho must be worried about him. Ohh boy.

Once he decided to stand up, Hitsugaya's plans were immediately thwarted as Matsumoto fell on him, her boobs covering his face. The boy tried his best to push the largely bosomed Matsumoto and breathe, but no avail. He shook, kicked and did his best to get her off. And when she did she did something he would surely never let her forget.

She poured the sake on him.

"Matsumoto!" Hitsugaya coughed uncontrollably as the sake somehow managed to get into his mouth. "You imbecile! Get off of me now!" He cried out, his tone filled with anger and annoyance pushing Matsumoto away only to hear her laugh yet again.

"Oh Taicho, stop it!" She giggled, lying on her back and looking at him with dilated eyes. "I didn't know you were feisty!"

"Matsumoto!"

Enough was enough! He was going to leave now! He didn't care if she fell on him again! He was tired, annoyed, angry, and his clothes smelled of sake! No, he was going back to the 4th division and he was staying there until he can fully recover!

Once he managed to stand up again, Matsumoto took a hold of his hand and gave a strong tug, letting him lose his balance a bit, a balance, which he quickly regained. "Matsumoto, let me go!" Histugaya growled, pulling his hand away from her. What was going through her mind?!

"Taichooo, don't leave! The fun just started and we were going to have a contest! Come onnn." Matsumoto begged, her hold on him tightening. No matter how strong he tugged, the young boy was still weaker than her. It annoyed him that this was true, but he tried to ignore it the best he can.

"Matsumoto, you're drunk! Now let me go this instant!"

And with the last tug, he managed to get away from her grasp and then managed to run away out of the door, leaving the drunk Matsumoto on the floor, calling after him.

--

He ran away as fast as he can, not knowing which way he was going. Histugaya didn't care where he was running to. All he cared about was just getting away from it all. As he was running, he realized that from the day he awoke in the fourth division, everyone surrounding him were keeping an eye on him, and this realization made him annoyed.

He needed to get away.

He needed to go somewhere where they can't find him.

Stopping dead on his tracks, he stared ahead. That's it! He should go to the living world. He should go there and try to get a grip of himself. Histugaya knew it would be a bit risky, but at least he'll be alone.

And while he would be there, he could visit Urahara and get himself a gigai. Yes, this could all work perfectly.

With a shunpo, Histugaya made his way towards the 13th division. He was going to get him a Hell Butterfly and get himself down to the living world.

He was going to leave Seireiti.

When he made it to the 13th division, Histugaya made sure no one would see him. He quietly sneaked into the division and took one of the hell butterflies and sneaked out as fast as he could.

It was after a while did he find himself leaning against a wall, looking down at the hell butterfly that was in his hand. Was this the right choice? He wondered with a frown. It was obvious that he couldn't focus on controlling his bursts of energy when he would be in Seireiti. At least when he'll be in the living world, his energy would be lower than it is here. After a few thoughts, Histugaya pushed himself off of the wall.

Hours later, the captains of all the 13 divisions were alerted.

Histugaya Toushiro wasn't in Seireiti anymore.


	15. Chapter 15

_Hahaha! I think I got my UMPH back! ^_^ I'm quite happy that I managed to_

_write this chapter up. Uhhhuh! I hope you guys like it. Haha. I know I _

_enjoyed typing it. :D _

_DICLAIMER: Nutin' is maiieenn. All belongs to Kubo Tite._

* * *

"You cheater! Gimme back my money!"

"Ahhh shut up! I didn't cheat, you sourpuss."

"Who are you calling a sourpuss, toadface?!"

"Why I otta—"

"Will you two be quiet or I swear I'll kick both your asses!" An annoyed Rukia snapped at both men who were arguing over some stupid game. It was Saturday night and Ichigo had invited everyone (it was more like Rukia's doing) to his house. They were sitting in his small cramped up room. Ichigo on his bed, Rukia giving her back to the desk, Ishida giving his own back to the bed while Chad and Inoue giving theirs to the closet. Renji was sitting across Ichigo, between Chad and Inoue.

"Well, he's a cheat and I know he cheated! Now give me back my money!" Ichigo angrily said, pointing down at the floor where the cards were scattered.

"Hey, it ain't my fault you a lousy player, Ichigo!" Renji replied back, a smug smirk on his lips. Well, he did cheat but he wasn't going to let Ichigo win. Besides, he needed that money to pay off Rukia who loaned him some cash and now was practically having her zunpakto on his neck, threatening him for her money.

Giving up on their argument, Ichigo slouched a bit and looked down on the floor, leaning his right cheek on his palm. How could he have not one?! He obviously played correctly, and he obviously had the highest score. He should have won!

"Ahhh let's play something else. I'm getting sick of this game." Ichigo finally said, frowning.

Pushing his glasses up with a small smile on his lips, Ishida looked at Ichigo, amusement in his eyes. "We only played one round."

"Whatever, this is boring."

Ishida chuckled, shaking his head. Ichigo was being very childish at the moment, being upset at a game he had lost in and deciding to play another, hoping he would win in. He had known the orange haired boy for a while, so he wasn't surprised to see this kind of action come from him. It was actually expected.

"Naah, I like this game." Renji lazily said, leaning back more onto the closet (if it was possible, of course), smirking at Ichigo who seemed to twitch a bit before he replied with a snap.

"Shut up, you have no opinion in this!"

"Who made you boss?!" The redhead retaliated, furrowing his brows and leaning forward, ready to jump on Ichigo.

Ichigo noticing this did the same, "This is my house!"

Renji moved in closer, "It's usually guests who get to choose what they want to play!"

Ichigo moved in as well, "Well, I've decided that the host gets to choose!"

They were inches away from each other now, arguing more and more. And just beside them, Rukia trying to control herself, her brow slightly twitching. Inoue being the most innocent of them all leaned into Rukia and whispered. "Rukia-chan, it isn't worth hurting them both you know?"

But her whisper did nothing to stop Rukia smacking both of them on their heads. "Will you shut up already?! You're both giving me a headache, and I can't stand having a headache!"

"Gomen." Both males muttered, lowering their heads and rubbing them from the numbing pain. They didn't like to apologize, but they knew that Rukia could beat them with her kudo which they both failed at. When Rukia was about to speak again, her cellphone rang. Everyone looked at the cellphone that was on the desk with alert. It only rang when there was some kind of emergency in Seireitei.

Quickly taking the phone in her hand, Rukia flipped it open and pressed it against her ear. "Hello?"

"Rukia! Thank God you answered."

"Matsumoto-Taicho?" Everyone quickly stood up in the room, looking down at Rukia. "Is something the matter?" She asked, knowing that there was something wrong from the tone of Matsumoto's voice.

"Yes, Rukia. I don't know if Ichigo or Renji told you about Histugaya-taicho, but he's alive and now he isn't in Seireitei!" Matsumoto almost cried the last part, her heart beating fast against her chest. It had been her fault for his disappearance. She had gotten drunk when she was supposed to keep a close eye on him. Who knows what could have happened to him! He could have been taken away! He could be hurt by now! All these possibilities were making Matsumoto's heart ache.

On the other side of the phone, Rukia's face paled at the fact that Histugaya-taicho was still alive! And at the fact that he wasn't in Seireitei. Worried, she looked up at Ichigo and Renji who had confused looks written on their faces. "We'll do our best to find him, Matsumoto-taicho!" She told the older woman, her voice confident, but her face filled with concern.

"Thank you, Rukia. I just hope we'll find him soon." And with that, Matsumoto shut the phone.

"What is it Rukia?" Ichigo asked, once she pocketed her phone. "What did Matsumoto want?" He knew it was bad, because Rukia never looked worried like that, except over Inoue when she was taken to Hueco Mundo.

Sighing, she looked up at Ichigo, her dark eyes hardening. "Histugaya-taicho isn't in Seireitei." She simply said. Both boys, Renji and Ichigo's eyes widened while the others tilted their heads blinking.

"Isn't Histugaya-kun dead?" Ishida dared to ask, placing his hand under his chin.

"Apparently not. And those two know about it." The girl said, pointing her finger at both boys. "Why didn't you tell us about this?! This is big you know?! I always thought he was dead!"

"Well…. Uhh…"

"See we…"

"Never mind! Hitsugaya-taicho is out there and God knows what happened to him! He could be hurt! Now let's separate into groups and search town, maybe we could find him before noon tomorrow."

Getting out of their gigais (and his own body), Ichigo, Renji and Rukia stood in the middle of the room, all having their zunpakutos held in their hands. Afterwards, they separated into three groups; Ishida and Chad, Renji and Ichigo and last Inoue and Rukia.

They had no time to waste, so the groups quickly took off in different directions, looking for the lost taicho.


	16. Chapter 16

_yaaay! Another chapter. I'll be honest, I enjoyed writing_

_this chapter. Even if it sucks, I enjoyed writing it. Haha. _

_Annyyyways, I hope you enjoy! :D _

* * *

Hidden between the bushes the white haired boy sat cross legged, thinking about the next step he should do. Originally, He was going to go tell Urahara everything and then ask for his help. But rethinking about it, he found it to be a little too risky. Urahara could get Kurosaki or Kuchiki to come over as if he didn't intend to do it. He could call on Matsumoto and assure her that he was here with him, and Matsumoto being herself would come to the human world, crash the doors down and take him back to Seireitei. No, he should simply steal one of the gigais, even if it didn't belong to him, and run off into the city. That wouldn't be very hard, right? He could roam around in the city for a few days and then head out to the forest that was just out of the city's territory. He recalled seeing a cottage out there once. He could take residence there until he was in full control over his power.

As he sat there plotting, he wondered what had happened up in Seireitei. Had they already sounded the alarm about him being missing? Did they know where to find him? If so, how soon will they come to hunt him down as if he were a dangerous hollow. If they didn't, what would they think happened to him? Hitsugaya didn't think they would believe that he had been taken away from Seireitei and put back into the dark cell he had lived in for three years that was located in Hueco Mundo. He shuddered at the thought of the cell and looked up at the dark sky to forget about it and focus on his plan.

He was going to strike when Urahara, Jinta, Ururu and Tessai were fast asleep. Hitsugaya would have to sneak in very carefully and make sure that Tessai didn't put a shield up to ward intruders. He didn't doubt the man would do it. That's why he was ready to use his kidou. Although, he would have to be very cautious to not let his reiatsu linger around after he leaves. He wouldn't want Urahara to suspect him coming over and stealing one of his gigais.

Hitsugaya stood up and looked straight ahead. He was on top of a hill that overlooked the city. His teal eyes surveyed the city, watching the people as they got into the cars, people who entered stores laughing, people who seemed to be bickering over something. He would have to live in this city for a while, so he better know what he was expecting. And looking at the people from this height was perfect. He could study their actions and responses. Once he'll be in his gigai, those people would see him and he didn't know how they would react to someone like him.

Crossing his arms over his chest, he gave a long weary sigh. He never expected something like this would happen to him. Frankly, Hitsugaya always thought he would die when he was in that dark cell with Gin and some of the Arrancar coming in to 'play' with him. They way they tortured him, he was positive that he was a dead man. Surprisingly, he was rescued by none other than Kurosaki Ichigo and then was taken back to Seireitei where they kept a close eye on him. Hitsugaya hated the attention he had gotten while he was in Seireitei. If he were left alone, he would have dealt with his problem and never left. It was their faults that made him take this step.

To him, they treated him like an injured child. His brow twitched at that thought. He hated to be treated like a child. Toshirou could very well take care of himself and they all knew it. Although, it seems with his small body and boyish looks it had everyone deceived into believing that he was a child. He was not a child! He was wiser than some of the captains in the Gotei 13 and he had a sharp mind. A child would not have those things for sure.

He should be focusing on what he should do rather than get annoyed at something as stupid as this. With a deep breath, he cleared his head from those ridiculous thoughts and then made quick shunpos, moving from building to another until he was only a block away from Urahara's shop. He stopped atop a building's edge, staring down, his teal eyes watching closely as if something wrong was going to happen. Also, he was getting ready to hide his reiatsu. He hadn't done it in a while so it would take some time for him to be able to do it.

Focusing on his energy, Hitsugaya shut his eyes and took long deep breaths, clearing his mind from unnecessary thoughts. After several deep thoughts, he opened his eyes and felt that he had achieved what he wanted. Hitsugaya's right hand reached to grab something from his back, but then he remembered that he didn't have a zanpakto. He lowered his hand and frowned. His reflexes were used to holding onto his zanpaktou when he had readied himself to do something such as this. It felt… odd that he didn't have Hyorinmaru by his side.

Hyorinamru. Rather than being on his side, the ice dragon was now apart of him like he has never been before. Hitsugaya could feel his presence from time to time. The dragon was very helpful when he decided to escape from Seireitei. He felt assured that there was at least someone who understood him.

It was time to move. He checked his reiatsu for one more time and vanished from top of the building in a blink of an eye.

--

It hadn't been hard to sneak into the shop. In fact, it seemed as if they were ready for a theft such as this. Hitsugaya's eyes narrowed in suspicion. Urahara wouldn't know about his escape at this time, would he? Usually, he would be informed when Kurosaki and his gang came over. Trying his best, he began to identify the reiatsu's in the shop. There was no one other than the four people who were residing in the shop. There was no reason to be suspicious of anything-fishy going on. Although, Hitsugaya being himself was already on his feet, expecting something to go horribly wrong.

He knew where Urahara placed the gigais, so there was no trouble in going in and taking them. The trouble was if there was a trap set up or an alarm of some sort. You could never tell with Urahara Kisuke. The man was a genius, sure, but at times he was a blazing maniac.

Hitsugaya was only a few steps away from the door that lead to the gigais. Eventually when he made it, he slowly opened the door and carefully made sure that there would be no trap around him. Odd enough, there wasn't. Now this seemed very fishy. Never mind, he should just take a gigai and run away. He spotted the gigai he would use when he would visit, but he knew they'd know it was him. It took him a few minutes until he found the perfect gigai.

Grabbing it and taking some soul candy he had found in a box, Hitsugaya quick stepped his way out of the shop leaving everything as it is, except for the stolen gigai and soul candy.

* * *

He was watching him the whole time. He knew he would take another gigai rather than the one that was made for him. He had felt his reiatsu before he even hid it. Urahara expected this would happen the moment Kurosaki told him about Hitsugaya's escape from Seireitei.

He knew, and he wasn't going to stop him. Why? He didn't know. He trusted the young man to know that he can handle himself. And, maybe, just maybe he escaped because of the attention they gave him in Seireitei when he had just returned after three years of torture. It was either that… or he just didn't know.

Now standing up in his room, Urahara peaked out of the window and smiled as he felt the young man release his reiatsu and then disappear into the night. Well, that's that, wasn't it? Still smiling, Urahara turned around and went to their small kitchen to make him some tea.

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_lololol. =O SNEAKY URAHARA!!_

_I did laugh when I wrote the last bit. Hehehe. I seriously see Urahara do that and go on with his day, not telling anyone what he saw or what he expected. lol. _

_Anyways, I hope you guys liked it. :D Comments are welcomed! _


	17. Chapter 17

_Haha. I find it funny that there's only 10 minutes till Hitsu's birthday finishes here._

_Sooo this chapter is a HAPPYBIRTHDAYYY Hitsu thing. xD Hahaha. _

_:D I hope you guys like this chapter. I like it cuz it's a little lengthy. *cough*_

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Hitsugaya didn't get into his gigai until the very next morning. He didn't want to be seen by people as he walked around in the dead of the night. Plus, he wouldn't be able to move faster than he did when he was in his shinigami form. So when the sunlight's rays hit his face, his teal eyes opened, a little disoriented. It had taken him a while to remember what he had done. He escaped Seireitei and managed to steal a gigai from Urahara's shop in one day. And now, he was really on the run as if he were an escaped convict.

He sat up and looked around the place he had vacated. Hitsugaya found this small wooden lodge when he was looking for a place to sleep the night in. The lodge seemed to be abandoned, as there was no food around and no furniture. Hitsugaya had to sleep on the floor and make the best of what he found. Thankfully, the night wasn't cold so he slept soundly. The gigai he had stolen was placed a few inches away from him. His eyes looked at the gigai and frowned, wondering who it belonged to. It didn't look familiar at all, because the gigai he had taken had chestnut brown hair and it looked like a few inches taller that him.

Maybe it was one of the new shinigamis Hitsugaya didn't have the pleasure to meet. It had been three years since he was gone, so he shouldn't be surprised if new shinigamis were the ones being sent to the real world to try to hunt down hollows. Hitsugaya hoped this shinigami wouldn't mind wearing his gigai. A smile appeared on his lips at the thought of the other shinigami protesting against wearing a dead taicho's gigai while Urahara pushed it towards him for him to wear telling him that the dead taicho wouldn't mind. Urahara would be grinning when he would do this, of course. Hitsugaya didn't put it beside him.

It was time to wear his gigai and go out for a test run. He hadn't been in one for a long time, so he knew he would be a little rusty with controlling a gigai. With a low grunt, Hitsugaya stood up on his two feet and looked down at the gigai. He picked it up and it's head rolled back as expected. Hitsugaya took a deep breath, pressed the gigai against him and immediately felt the change. He felt the electrical spark he always felt and when he opened his eyes and looked down, he knew he was in the gigai. First of all, he felt a little taller than he usually was (he hated to admit it). Secondly, there wasn't a gigai around, so he in the one he had stolen.

Raising it's hand, Hitsugaya looked closely at it. He closed his hand into a fist and then opened it once more palm out. Alright, so he now able to move the hands. Now he would have to start with the feet. He wiggled his toes from where he stood and smiled, remembering the days where he and Mom—No, he shouldn't remember her or anything from the past. All he cared about was the present and the future. No reason to dwell in the past. Pushing those memories and thoughts on the side, he lifted his foot and took a step forward. He did the same with the other foot and a satisfied smile appeared on his lips. He was now able to move both his legs, allowing him to walk. It would take him a while before he's able to run, jump and whatever living people do these days. Now to turn left. He had to admit, it was a little hard as he tripped once, but on the second try, he got it and was able to move right and left and go in circles.

Alright! He was ready to go into the city and browse around safely. No one would be able sense his reiatsu, because he would be hiding it. And no one would think twice to and say that he, a boy with chestnut hair and brown eyes, was Hitsugaya Toshirou. In truth, he was happy with that fact. He could do whatever he wanted and no one would know it was him. All he'd have to do was make sure his reiatsu doesn't go overboard.

As he walked out of the small lodge, Hitsugaya was already up at the sky with his brown eyes. The sun was bright, so noon was probably around the corner. That's good as it'll give him time to look around for a spot for him to use as a practice ground. This was after all the reason he came to the living world.

Stretching his arms over his shoulders he wondered about how he would get into the city. Last night, he shunpo'd here, so it would be hard for him to get back to the city on foot. He frowned at that thought. Well, he did bring this onto himself. He had to pay the price of getting into his gigai while he wasn't in the city, athough, he would have caught too much attention if he were to do it in the city. Hitsugaya was smart enough to have done this outside the city where no one would expect him to be.

Sigh. It would take him a long time to make it to the city and simply walk around, try to get him food and something to drink. Even if he is a spirit he still needs to eat and drink. With the intense training he was going to go through, he needed his energy.

With one more look back at the small cottage, Hitsugaya smiled, turned around and walked away, heading towards the city.

* * *

It took him maybe half an hour or maybe even more to make it into the city, he wasn't sure. The streets were crowded with people, young and old. He watched with interested eyes as two children ran up to a woman, who Hitsugaya presumed was their mother and showed her something in their hands. He stood there for a few moments, watching closely. The mother smiled down at her children, petted their heads and nodded, her eyes glistening with what he could tell was pride and love. Hitsugaya felt odd that moment. He knew he had died at a young age. He couldn't remember how he died, but he knew he was young. He wondered about his mother, his parents, his family. What were they like? This question often popped up in his head when he would have nothing to do.

In the midst of thinking about his parents, he didn't realize that the woman was now standing in front of him, her smile glowing. Hitsugaya blinked his eyes and took a step back, alarmed at how close she seemed to be. "Hello," she smiled, waving her hand as if he were a child. Hitsugaya would have scoffed at her for doing so, but he held his tongue. "Are you lost, dear?" Him? Lost? That was absurd! "Where's your Mommy?" These questions were irritating him, he realized, feeling his brow twitch. "No, I'm not lost. No, I don't have a mommy and please don't speak to me as if I were a child." He snapped when she opened her mouth to ask him another pointless question.

"Oh. Oh my."

"What?!"

"I'm so sorry, dear. I didn't know you were an orphan!" The woman apologized, her eyes filled with regret for asking him about his mother. Who knew, maybe this young boy was craving for a mother's hug and her warmth beside him. "Which orphanage do you stay in? I could take you there if you want to."

"I. Am. Not. An. Orphan!" Hitsugaya snapped, his fists by his side, glaring up at the woman. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go."

"Ohhh no you don't! You don't know what roams in these streets at night! No, I am going to take you to the police department so they could protect you and do whatever they can to find your parents or find a relative of yours! I'm doing this for your own good, dear." The woman told him, grabbing onto his wrist. His eyes widened, shocked that the woman dared to grab him and shocked that she cared so well for someone she didn't even know.

Hitsugaya tried to pull away, but he found himself much weaker than he is when he was in spirit mode. He didn't know why. Usually, when he was in his old gigai, he would still have some super strength of some sort. Now, he was helpless! He hated how he felt so weak at the moment. Hitsugaya Toshirou, 10th Division's last captain, the wielder of the greatest and strongest snow zunpakutou in Seireitei was now in the grasp of a human woman who wanted to hand him to authorities.

Could his luck just get any worse?

"Oh! Officer!"

He should have not even asked that question.

"Offi—Oh stop fidgeting! You're hurt—Ow!" Squealed the lady as Hitsugaya managed to step on her foot, letting her release his wrist and break into a run. "Officer! Officer that child is a runaway!" He heard her yell, feeling her finger pointing at his back. He had to get away, he will not let some human capture him and report him as a missing person who isn't even missing! He simply will not allow it!

His lungs burned as his breaths started to get deeper, his legs getting weaker. He couldn't run any further. Hitsugaya had to think of something, because he was now hearing the officer shout for people to stop that boy with brown hair. And here he thought if he had a hair color like everyone's they wouldn't notice him. Was he wrong or what?

His legs were about to give out when he found a cart filled with fruit in front of him. This was his chance. It was now or never. Hitsugaya pushed himself to his limits and pushed the cart the owner was holding, letting all the fruit fall, causing a messy, sticky and slippery mess. He would have slipped on some fruit if he hadn't jumped so quickly. He would have been caught by the owner if he were so fast. The officer stopped chasing him as he slipped when he tried to stop and take another turn to catch him.

Hitsugaya, to him, was now gone. The officer would have to report him so they would be able to catch that little runt. He seemed trouble to him, and he did not like trouble in this city.

As for Hitsugaya, he now had his back against a wall, hiding behind a dumpster. His breaths were heavy and pant like. He was out of air, and his lungs burned in demand of oxygen. His small body shook from the fear that had overwhelmed him when the officer started to chase him as if he were a convict.

It was noon now, and the officer would probably still be looking for him. Hitsugaya needed to go somewhere without being seen. His brown eyes looked at the dumpster and he frowned. Maybe, well there is the possibility, he could find something from the dumpster to wear so he would hide how he looked like. It was only for today until he got what he needed and ran off.

No, no, no! He will not resort to wearing things from a dumpster. He wasn't poor! But, he was homeless and had nothing to drink or eat.

"Come on Kurosaki! We'll be late for our game!"

No, it wasn't possible.

"Ahhh your shorts are on too tight. Just chill"

Was it?

"Ayyyeee, Kuuroosakkiii. Seriously, we need to head out now!"

Looking out from behind the dumpster Hitsugaya saw Ichigo's unmistakable younger sister Karin. She was wearing her shorts like always, but with a cap and a ball held in her left arm. She was grinning as the other boys he vaguely remembered surrounded her, begging her to hurry up to their game which Hitsugaya expected was about them having the field to themselves again.

He watched her closely and listened to what her and her teammates were saying. "Tch. Alright, we'll go bu—" she stopped, staring .

She was staring at him.

* * *

_OH BURRRNNN! Cliffhanger! Haha._

_Well, hope you guys liked it. ^____^ Comments are welcomed! :D _


	18. Chapter 18

_Happy New Year!_

_This is super late, I know. I've been busy with real life. :D _

_Anyway, sorry again! I hope you enjoy this. 3_

_-Low. _

* * *

She was staring at him.

In mere seconds, he felt his back being pressed against the wall, hiding behind the dumpster again. Karin was not one of the people he wanted to pump into when he would be roaming the city. In fact, he did not want to pump into anyone he knew, afraid they'd feel an odd reiatsu surrounding his gigai. Thus, keeping a close watch on him and then eventually figuring out that he was Hitsugaya. He took deep breaths, hoping she would have not noticed him. If she did, she would probably know his reiatsu and tell her brother. That, or feel something strange about him which would probably happen. But now, he sat there feeling pitiful that he was hiding behind a dumpster and hoping for a girl to not notice him.

"Hey, kid!"

But he was wrong.

He looked up and there she was, peaking from behind the dumpster, her eyes narrowed at him. She had grown older, he noticed, but she still had that tomboyish attitude surrounding her. He admired that about her, oddly. His brown eyes met with hers and then slowly, a smile grew on her lips. He immediately furrowed his brows, confused at her smile. What was she smiling about? She didn't know him (the gigai, of course) and she hasn't even sensed his reiatsu. All Karin did was smile and to his shock, she pulled out her hand.

"You do know you're sitting behind a dumpster, right?" She asked sarcastically, grinning while her brown eyes glistened.

Hitsugaya stared at her. Karin three years ago would have shouted at him, wouldn't she? He really didn't know as he didn't interact with the girl very much. Toshirou just watched her from a distance. "Uhm… yeah."

"And you know that dumpsters stink, right?"

The answer to that question was obvious, but he had a feeling that she wanted him to answer it to make him feel very stupid. He was sitting behind a stinky dumpster. "Well, yeah."

"Are you a rat?"

"What?"

"Just answer my question!" She sighed, smacking the hand she pulled out earlier for him to hold on his forehead. With all her feminine looks, she still acted like a boy. Hitsugaya stared at her, his brows instantly furrowing. "Hey!" He snapped, rubbing his forehead and with the back of his hand. "You really didn't have to do that!"

Rolling her eyes, she grabbed his arm and pulled him onto his feet. It wasn't that she was strong, it was that he didn't even try to struggle. What was the point? He knew the Kurosaki family very well, and Karin would beat his ass for him to get up. She gave him an odd look for not complaining about a girl pulling him up, but she pushed that aside and placed both her hands on her hips, taking a good look at the boy in front of her.

It was odd, but she felt like she knew him, something that surrounded him an aura of some sort. Although, she knew she had never seen that face before. Brown chocolaty eyes and chestnut hair was a little odd around here, so she would know him instantly if she had met him before. Karin decided that she must be imagining things since she was always around her brother who would turn into a shinigami all of the sudden. Her imagination was playing around with her right now and she knew it because she did not know this boy.

"Uhhh… Are you done staring at me?" Toshirou asked, annoyance obvious in his tone.

"Are you going to sit behind a rotting dumpster?" She retaliated, raising her own brows.

It was his turn to roll his eyes at her question. Last time he spoke to her she was the most annoying thing in the living world. Now, she seemed to be even more annoying, more annoying than Yachiru if that was possible, of course. No one seemed to be more annoying than the little pink haired fuku-taicho. But maybe, as there was a slight chance, Karin could be even more annoying.

He wasn't aware that Karin reached out, grabbed his arm until she started to tug on him so he would move. He blinked at her, and then realized she wanted him to actually move. "What are you waiting for, kid?"

"Hey! I'm not a kid."

"Well, you're sure acting like one."

"Shut up." Hitsugaya snapped, pulling his arm away from her hand. "And anyways what makes you think that I'm going to walk away from here? What if I want to be alone?"

Karin raised a brow in disbelief. "Then I'd say you're a whack job, which I really doubt. Now seriously, come out of here. You could play football with us if you like." The girl smiled. Hitsugaya noticed that she looked pretty when she smiled. But why was he thinking about how pretty she looked? Snapping out of whatever he was in, he looked at her and scratched the back of his head, thinking about her offer.

He shouldn't risk it. He shouldn't risk going with her. They could meet her brother or something like that and then he'd figure out it was him. Although, he doubted Kurosaki Ichigo would figure that it was him because he still had trouble detecting reiatsu, but he knew Ichigo would be surrounded by Kuchiki Rukia and Abarai Renji. And those two know how to detect reiatsu even if it was miles away.

"You must be a slow person."

Hitsugaya blinked at her. She was wearing a cocky smile and now was leaning onto her left leg, her cap off. He hadn't noticed her while she took off the hat or when she leaned onto her foot. Usually, Hitsugaya noticed everything. And he ment everything.

"Do. You. Un—"

"Shut up."

Karin grinned at the quick reply. He really does get quick fast, doesn't he? He reminded her of her brother sometimes who gets irritated at anything in an instance. She has that too, but not as much as this kid and her brother. Well, maybe that was a lie, but she wasn't going to admit it now will she?

"Will you come with me or not? Come on, it won't hurt you." She reasoned.

Hitsugaya eyed her a bit more. No, he shouldn't risk it. "No thanks. I have things to do anyway. Thanks for your offer, though."

"Whatever." Was her annoyed reply. Seriously, she was just trying to be nice and this was what she was getting? If this is how nice people are always treated, then she didn't want to be one of those nice people.

With her ball in her hand, Karin turned around, giving Hitsugaya her back. "We're going to go this soccer field that's close to a park. You won't miss it. You can join us if you're not busy anymore," she told him before she walked away from Hitsugaya, leaving him a little dumbfounded.

She had changed a bit.

Once she was away from his sight, Hitsugaya raked his hand and sighed. What was he going to do now? He didn't want to go afraid he'd get caught by her brother and the rest of his posse. On the other hand, he enjoyed playing soccer four years ago when she invited him to join her team to beat some junior high students.

"Pft. Whatever."

* * *

_Comments are welcomed! :D_


	19. Chapter 19

_ACK. I am so so so so so so so sorryyyy for this late update! A year later!_

_Wow. Ahah. Well, I should explain what happened to me. I was a senior, I had to go through a LOT of exams_

_and now I have a health issue which will probably strap me down to bed. _

_Bed = Writing. _

_So that's a good thing, no? yes? Hehe. Enjoy the story! And comment PLEASE! 3_

* * *

Whatever had turned into another thing, really. He had found himself standing amongst in front of Karin, who was holding the ball under her pit, her hand resting on her hip. The other boys were spread around the field, waiting for Karin's announcement of the game starting. Her eyes surveyed the boy from top to bottom with a cheeky smile. So, he had decided to come and join them in a little game of soccer, had he? She didn't know what truly possessed him to do such a thing, because for one thing she knew she wasn't a sweet and kind person. She was a tomboy, and never had Karin been proud to acknowledge it.

"I see you came." She smiled, tilting her head to the side, her hair following along. Her eyes twinkled mischievously as she notice him shift from one leg to another. He had his arms crossed over his chest, his head held high and Karin couldn't help but feel this odd sensation that she knew him. It bugged her so, but she had decided to keep that aside and simply pay attention to him.

Hitsugaya pocketed his hands and looked up at the sky, four other heads following his lead. One the players, a curly haired young boy mouthed to the friend closest to him, "What do you think he's looking at up there?"

"Anything but you." Hitsugaya told him loudly so he could hear, causing the boy's head to snap back and look at him. His eyes slightly widened as he noticed that the browned eyed boy in front of him had this cold aura about him, an attitude of resenting people. To put it simple, he was not a person to mess with. The curly haired boy gulped and nodded his head. Hitsugaya's eyes looked over at Karin. "I just came over to watch," he murmured, giving a slight shrug as if it didn't matter at all.

Karin eyed him suspiciously. "Liar. You came here to play, so you're gunna play!" Who in their minds would come simply just to watch a stupid game of soccer? Playing was much more fun than watching, she thought.

"I will not play." Hitsugaya retorted stubbornly, annoyance flashing in his eyes. "I simply came over to watch you play. I have nothing better to do. I admit, it's so very sad."

The brunette raised her brow at him. Was he being sarcastic? He couldn't honestly have nothing better to do that watch them. Every kid in the city had something better to do than just watch other people play! She even at least had her studies! Isn't he supposed to be studying? Her eyes narrowed suspiciously afterwards, not believing a word that was coming out of his mouth. There was something she couldn't pinpoint about him. Something she wasn't comfortable with.

He felt her staring at him for a while, causing him to shift on another leg. She couldn't be studying him, trying to figure out who he was, could she? No, Karin didn't have enough brains to do such a thing. Then again, she did have the spunk to kick out the truth from him. Hitsugaya gulped and eyed her friends who looked like they were cowering behind her. He sighed. "Fine, I'll go." The boy muttered, turning around. However, before he could take a few steps forward, Karin grabbed his wrist. Tightly.

And then she gasped.

His eyes widened a bit and he quickly pulled away from her hand. What had she felt? He looked down at the wrist she had held, his eyes then widening some more. The tattoo that he had on his wrist was showing through the gigai. Not only that, but it was also glowing, its color an odd shade of bright blue close to being white. That wasn't supposed to happen. None of this was supposed to happen! He looked up at her and she was simply stunned into silence with her mouth slightly opened.

This wasn't supposed to happen at all.

"Who _are_ you?" She asked, a bit horrified while he pulled his wrist away from her hand. "Are you a shinigami?"

Hitsugaya took a step back and stared at her. This made Karin a little uneasy. "I don't know what you're talking about. I—I need to go," he stuttered, starting to turn around as he tried hiding his wrist by covering it with his left hand. Though that did not stop Karin from growing more suspicious.

"Hey, hey wait! Who the hell are you?!"

Toushiro didn't respond to her question. Instead, he looked over his shoulder and gave her a look that made her take a step backwards. No, it wasn't possible. Did she just see his eyes gleam, looking brighter than it actually was?

It was right at that moment did she feel something she can't explain, something that was enveloping her. A large energy force that she felt was almost suffocating. Not only that, but a force of energy that felt… cold.

His eyes widened and she opened her mouth, about to say another word, yet he broke into a run. The boys that were waiting for her watched Hitsugaya as he ran and commented that it was better for them to not have an extra player.

"Oiii, Kurosaki! Are we gunna play or not?" Hollered one of the boys through the field. It was that moment did Karin snap out of her thoughts. What just happened? She felt like she was drowning in something so cold. And apparently, she was the only one who felt this. A hand was pressed against her chest as she took a deep breath. What she felt was so very odd, but so very familiar.

"Oiii, Kurosaki!"

"I—I won't play today! I gotta run home! My dad wants me to do something in the clinic!"

With a chorus of disapproval, Karin ran up to the bleachers, grabbed her backpack, swung it over her shoulder and ran towards her house, hoping that her brother. She had a feeling that the boy she was with a few moments ago was not from around here.

* * *

Hitsugaya's lungs burned intensely, screaming at him to stop. He didn't want to stop now. He wanted to stop when he's sure that he's as far away as he is from Karin Kurosaki. She saw and felt something and he knew it. He didn't want to risk him being discovered. He'd only been here for a day and he was already getting in trouble!

Finding an opening to an alley, Hitsugaya slid in and leaned against the wall, his legs feeling like jelly. He slowly slid down and began to breath deeply while fingers skimmed through the glowing tattoo. It was getting brighter and this worried Hitsugaya. He didn't want to have an explosion of reaitsu right now and especially right here.

With his breaths growing more rapid, he rubbed his brow nervously as he watched the light from wrist his beginning to grow brighter. It reached to the point that the light blinded him, causing him to slide off of the wall, his body falling limply onto the ground. He looked like any normal human being with only one exception.

His eyes where white.

* * *

"Ichigo, you have to believe me you big butt!"

"If you're calling me a butt, then I won't believe you, runt." Ichigo replied cockily, a smug smile on his face. His little sister Karin came rushing into the house, her hair all messed up and her face all sweaty. She was probably going to tell him about the game she had, but instead she was telling him about this strange boy she met who had a tattoo or something of that sort. He wasn't really listening.

"If you're not going to listen to me, I'm going to tell Rukia!"

"Tell me what?"

Rukia popped out from one of the room's, a small little frown on her face. Ichigo sighed and rolled his eyes, not believing that Rukia would listen to his little sister blabber about some boy she saw. But knowing Rukia, she would be so very interested in this.

"There's this boy I met in this alley today and he was so strange, but you know me I attract strange things. I first invited him to play with us. He didn't want to, so I ignored him and went to the field with the boys, though he later came and said he didn't want to play, he just wanted to watch. And then I was calling him a scardy-ca—"

"Karin!" Ichigo exasperated, letting Rukia give him a hard stern for interrupting his sister. "Get to the point ofstory, please! We don't have all day to listen to you brag about some cu—"

"Will you just give me the chance to explain to you that his wrist _glowed_?! There was never a tattoo there and then suddenly there was!" Karin explained, her arms flapping around as if she were a chicken. This immediately grasped Ichigo and Rukia's attention as they looked at each other, worry crossing their expressions. "He then turned around and when I talked to him, he looked back and his eyes glowed, too! He's not normal! Is he some hollow or something?!"

Ichigo scratched the back of his head; a little confused to what to tell his worried little sister. "Ahhhhh, I'll take care of it. Don't worry, Karin. Just stay here. Rukia and I will go check it out."

After some time on convincing Karin that everything would be all right, Rukia turned back to Ichigo and crossed her arms.

"What are we going to do?" She asked him, her expression clearly disturbed by the information his sister gave her.

"Urahara would probably know what this thing is. Let's go."

* * *

"Hey, hey, check it out! Some kid is sleeping!" A dirty man sniggered as he and his friend approached the small boy. Leaning down, he began to go through his pockets, hoping he could find some food or maybe a little cash to buy him something nice. His friend was on the lookout, not wanting anyone to find them going through a little kid's clothing.

Suddenly, the small body began to move. First, his head twisted to look over at the man. Instantly, he backed away, raising his hands to say that he was only checking if he was still breathing, but instead he cursed under his breath. Looking at him were half-opened white eyes. Was he touching a blind kid?!

"Let's mo—YYAH!" The lookout yelped as a sudden energy force dragged him off the ground, pinning him against the wall. The other man's eyes widened with fear, quickly looking back at the boy who was now sitting up, his hand raised, palm out. The man watched as the brown haired boy slowly close his hand, causing ice to come out of nowhere and freeze his friend on the spot.

"Oh my God," he whispered, horrified as he tried to scramble on his feet. He managed to get up and run a few steps, but no use in that as his feet were instantly frozen. Looking back, he saw the boy already on his feet, an emotionless expression on his features. He didn't even look human that very second.

"Please no! Don't do this! Please no!"

"_Noooooo!"_

_

* * *

_

_Bwahaha. I hope you liked this chapter. I liked it. Hehe. _

_Comment please! _


	20. Chapter 20

_Thank you for the wonderful reviews, guys! I was very happy whilst reading them. Yup, yup. :3 _

_It took me a while to write this chapter, and I admit I don't like it THAT much, but I am satisfied with it. Hehe. _

_Enjoy! 3_

* * *

Ichigo and Rukia were already in their shinigami forms and halfway through Karakura town when they felt it. It was an energy force so powerful that both of them had to struggle to keep themselves from falling. Ichigo looked at Rukia, shock filling his eyes while she looked at him with horror. What was this? This wasn't a hollow's reiatsu, that's for sure. But what was it?

Once they managed themselves to stand up properly with no trouble, Ichigo placed a hand at the hilt of his zanpaktou, ready for action if any came. Rukia however stood there, her eyes gazing their surrounding.

"I don't think it's close," she murmured after a while.

"Do you think it's an Arrancar?"

Rukia shook her head at his question. This force was more powerful than the one Arrancar's have. "It's too pure to belong to an Arrancar. It must be something else. Although, I can't seem to shake off this feeling…"

Ichigio furrowed his brows, tilted his head and scratched the back of his head. "Ayyyee, Rukia, what're you talking about? We have no time for dilly-dallying, you know. You can stay here all you want, I'm goi—"

But he stopped midway at the expression he saw on Rukia's face. It wasn't shock, but fear and did he see a little concern there? But why would she be concerned? Confused, he opened his mouth, the question on the tip of his tongue when she interrupted him, her head already twisted to the west side of the city.

"Let's go, Ichigo. Hitsugaya-taicho might need our help," she said, placing her hands on Sode no Shirayuki and then quickly disappearing with a shunpo, Ichigo instantly following her.

* * *

Matsumoto was close to loosing her mind with worry. Taicho wasn't in Seireiti anymore. No one knew where he was. There were many theories to how he might have been kidnapped again, but she didn't believe so. She had a theory of her own and in it taicho actually fled from Seireiti by choice. The theories about him being kidnapped quickly died down when they found out that Hitsugaya in fact took a hell butterfly from the 12th division and ran away from Seireiti.

She couldn't understand why he would do such a thing. He wasn't stable enough to be running around all by his own. He might hurt himself and no one would be able to assist him. Her heart squeezed painfully at that thought.

She desperately wanted to find him and bring him back, but Yamamato soutaicho gave her strict orders to stay put and have him handle the issue. He was not going to let a former taicho with an uncontrollable reiatsu run around in whichever place he went to. Matsumoto was holding back her urges, however enough was enough.

Placing her hands on the rough wooden desk, she pushed herself off of her chair and stared down. She was going to bring him back, orders or not. No one would know where he would go to except her. And she didn't think taicho would appreciate a group of shinigami trying to capture him.

At that very second Matsumoto Rangiku came to a decision of what her next step should be. She looked up for a brief second, straightened up and quickly walked out of her office, heading for the 12th division to steal herself a hell butterfly.

* * *

He was cold.

He was so very cold.

But he felt safe for the first time in ages. Nothing could top the feeling that was overwhelming him. He felt protected, under someone's strong wings. There was nothing that could touch him, nothing that could harm him anymore. His heart was not filled with fear and worry anymore. He felt at ease.

_I will always protect you_, he heard a voice murmur, cold gushing wind following after it.

He felt at ease.

* * *

As they grew closer to the source, they felt colder and colder by the second. This did not affect Rukia very much as her zunpakto was ice based. This however did not mean she couldn't feel the cold rushing through her veins. Ichigo did not take the cold easily, feeling restless. The both of them reached to the point where they had to land onto the ground and walk towards the source, sensing it would be a little too dangerous to keep on being airborne.

"This is all Toushiro's doing?" Ichigo asked a little uncertain. He has known the boy for so long that he knew he would do anything to not attract a lot of attention to himself, especially with him being here in Karakura where he was actually supposed to be back in Seireitei recovering.

Rukia looked over at Ichigo and sighed. "It is his reiatsu. I'm not sure if he's doing it on purpose, though, because the reiatsu seems uncontrolled.' And that's what concerned her the most. Uncontrolled reiatsu always caused so many problems and in Hitsugaya's case it would be chaotic seeing as his own reiatsu can make snow fall. Now how would the people in the living world react to snow falling when winter was months away?

"Damn him for leaving Seireitei." The strawberry haired boy grumbled as they ventured deeper into the forest. The more steps they took, the colder it was, the more uncomfortable they grew.

"Oh my…"

"What the…?!"

What they saw shocked both of them beyond words. In front of them laid a playground that was covered completely in ice. It was like another world, another universe where the ice dominated everything. And by the looks of it, the ice did dominate this playground.

With everything so white, they easily spotted the chestnut haired boy that was sitting on one of the swings, slowly moving himself back and forth on the swing. His head had been bent down, so they couldn't see his features, but it was quite clear that the reiatsu's source was from him.

"Oiiii, Toushiro!" Ichigo yelled wanting to grab his attention seeing as the boy didn't even sense their presence, causing him to worry a bit. To his memory, Toushiro was always able to sense anyone's presence, no matter how well they could hide their reiatsu from him. And now with them just a few feet away from him, he didn't even show any sign of being aware of them.

He didn't even raise his head after that, causing both Ichigo and Rukia to glance at each other, a worried expression crossing their faces. What had come over Hitsugaya?

Not even caring, Ichigo took one step onto the ice field and what happened next was instantaneous. The boy's head snapped up, showing his glowing white eyes from behind the chestnut bangs. Rukia took a step back, her eyes widening at what she was seeing. Ichigo did not back away, but his reaction was almost the same as Rukia's. The boy looked possessed. Was it a hollow? Was it a mind trick Aizen was pulling? How should they know?

"Step back." Hitsugaya spoke softly, his tone flat and emotionless. Ichigo was always used to the authoritative and annoyed tone, so this just worried him a little more.

Ignoring the boy's order, Ichigo took another step, his hand reaching towards his back so he could hold onto Zangetsu. Before his hand even held onto the hilt, his feet were instantly frozen by the ice. Rukia called after him as he swore loudly, looking up from his feet to find Hitsugaya already standing, his head tilted to the side, his face completely expressionless. It was like he didn't even know Ichigo.

"Rukia don't come any closer!" Ichigo ordered, to which she obeyed, her hand clutching onto her zunpakto. "Oiiii, Toushiro, stop this!"

"I told you to step back, boy."

Boy…?

"Snap out of it, Toushiro! It's me, Kurosaki Ichigo!" He yelled at him, hoping that somewhere inside that body lied Hitsugaya. That he would snap out of this and realize what he was doing to Ichigo.

That didn't seem to affect him, though. The gigai Hitsugaya was inside stood there, staring at Ichigo, clearly not interested about him. To him, the boy looked so lifeless. He didn't even seem to be listening to him.

There was only one solution to snapping Hitsugaya out of this, and Ichigo wasn't thrilled to do it. Grabbing Zangetsu, he slashed the zanpaktou against the ice, cracking it and setting himself free. By doing that, it seemed to grab Hitsugaya's attention as the boy took another step forward.

"Step back or you shall regret it."

"Heh. After all this time we've known each other, Toushiro, you still don't know that I don't know the meaning of step back?" Ichigo commented, getting into a fighting position by slightly spreading his legs and centering his zanpaktou. "Then again, you're not Toushiro, so you wouldn't know. Now you will, though."

"You dare challenge me?"

A wicked grin appeared onto the young man's lips. "Yeah, and whattaya gunna do about it?"

"Ichigo, be careful!" called out Rukia, her eyes stuck onto the figure that is Hitsugaya.

"Foolish boy. You will regret challenging me."

A sudden burst of reiatsu emerged from the figure in front of them, causing a strong gust of wind hit them, almost knocking them off their feet. But Ichigo will not back down. He needed to safe Hitsugaya from whatever possessed him. He covered his eyes with his forearm out of reflex until the reiatsu died down a bit.

"Ichigo!" Called out Rukia from behind him.

Allowing himself to peek from behind his forearm, Ichigo was stunned to see the body that Hitsugaya was on the ground and beside it stood Hitsugaya himself, his hair and clothing swept away from the wind that was surrounding him. There was an odd eerie white glow surrounding his body. However there was one thing that attracted Ichigo the most and it was his glowing wrist. The dragon that was there was could be barely seen from how bright the glow is.

His head was lowered, but Ichigo somehow could tell that his eyes were still as white as they were in the gigai. Hitsugaya extended his right arm, the one with the tattoo, causing the strawberry haired boy to go into defensive form and raise his zanpaktou a little more. He watched closely as ice began to grow onto that arm, covering it all until it a sword began to form.

Rukia stood there, stunned at what she was seeing. She had never seen anything like this in her life. And her life is a long one, so the event that was happening now was simply mind blowing. Her indigo eyes looked over at Ichigo's body, anticipating the battle that was about to erupt between those two.

The sword of ice that Hitsugaya was now holding looked a little too much like his previous zanpaktou, Hyroinmaru, thought Ichigo as he waited. An itching silence overcame them for a few minutes. Brown eyes carefully watched their opponent, waiting for the first move to be made.

It felt like an eternity passed when they finally charged. Ichigo gave out a yell while Hitsugaya was quiet and dispassionate. Once their swords clashed, a large amount of reiatsu exploded from both ends, causing the ice around them to break into many pieces. Rukia covered her eyes and shouted Ichigo's name, afraid that he might have gotten hurt.

Ichigo ignored her, determined to attack Hitsugaya ruthlessly to make him snap out of it. Finding an opening, he swung Zangetsu, but Hitsugaya managed to block it quickly. Soon he found another opening and charged, and once again the white haired boy deflected his attack.

This continued for a few moments before Ichigo sense something crawl up his legs. In seconds he found himself being enveloped by ice. This wasn't like Hitsugaya! He would never take advantage of his ability and use it this way! Now he was being attack and deflecting those attacks in one spot is quite difficult. About to go into bankai, he heard, "Hado #31, Shakkaho!"

The red flame cannon was quickly approaching Hitsugaya. It seemed to be only inches away from hitting him when out of nowhere a wall of ice erupted from the ground and stopped that spell. From behind the ice, Hitsugaya's white glowing eyes stared at Rukia. "Foolish girl," he murmured, raising his other arm and then drawing his hand into a fist. With wide eyes, Ichigo watched as ice quickly devoured the brunette who screamed. "Rukia!" He shouted with fear and alarm. This was it, he has to do it, he couldn't wait any longer!

"Bankai!"

A strong gust of wind surrounded Ichigo. The moment it died down, he charged at Hitsugaya with murderous intentions. The fact that he had attacked Rukia was a sign that Toushiro wasn't in there, that it was only this beast, a beast that he needs to get rid of.

Ichigo was close to stabbing Hitsugaya in the back when in the blink of the eye, the white haired boy disappeared, appearing behind Ichigo and then murmuring, "Sit upon the frozen heavens."

He didn't have time to run away from his ill fate as a dragon burst from Hitsugaya's arm, biting into his back and eventually freezing the lower half of his body, making him fall onto the ground with blood oozing from his chest.

"I have warned you foolish boy." Hitsugaya spoke once Ichigo looked up at him, his vision slowly blurring. "My master will be protected from the likes of you who dare challenge us, who dare to try and hurt him."

The last thing Ichigo remembered seeing before giving up to the darkness was the boy sprouting ice wings and flying off into the sun.

* * *

**Author's note:** Okay so I didn't intend on this to happen, but I had this dream about something like this happening and I just HAD to write it. The plot is getting twisted a little and it'll be more aggressive than it was originally planned (Gosh, I just love being aggressive. XD). I really hope you guys like this chapter. I tried to make it longer than usual, but my patience died down. .__. *lame*

I also know the battle scene was short and not that much detailed. I figured that I can't describe swords clashing and banging against each other. Plus, I doubt Ichigo would be able to stab Hyorinmaru. I mean, come on, he's too epic for that. :P And yes, not a lot of Rukia in this chapter. You wanna know why? I don't like her that much. *SHRUG*

Please leave lovely reviews! They always make my heart flutter!


	21. Chapter 21

Hello! I'm sorry for the late update, but a lot has been going on in my life. I enjoyed writing this chapter and I hope you like it as much! :D

* * *

Bright lights blinded his eyes as he felt something grab onto him tightly, dragging him through the ground, he assumed, and calling out to him. What would call out to him, though? He felt too weak to think, to weak to register to what was happening to him. Everything was blurred and unfocused. He could hear voices calling him, calling his name repeatedly, and telling him to do something.

What was that?

_Hold on, Ichigo!_

Hold onto what?

_Ichigo stay with me, don't you dare go out on me!_

He wanted to speak, wanted to get up and see who was calling to him. He knew Ichigo was his name. He knew someone needed his help. With what? It was hard to understand, hard to remember when his mind was so foggy. Nothing made sense.

_Ichigo? … Ichigo?! _

And then he felt himself fade, the lights that were dominating his ability to see quickly dying out.

* * *

Matsumoto sat with crossed legs, her expression dark and unpleasant. She wasn't in the gigai Urahara had made for her. Instead she was in her shinigami clothes, her haori draped over her shoulders, her rosy scarf wrapped around her neck. Her blue eyes were hard and cold as ice itself if that was possible as she looked at Urahara, who looked solemn, step out of the room thate Ichigo and Rukia were occupying, followed by Tessai who seemed bothered.

"I sensed Hitsugaya-kun's reiatsu when Tessai was healing their wounds."

Hours prior to this, Matsumoto entered into the Karakura town only to be welcomed with an icy strong reiatsu. Instantly, she knew it was Hitsugaya's, making shunpo towards the scene. She was shocked to find a field of ice and a figure lying there, their blood apparently oozing from their body. When she had gotten closer, she felt her heart grip as the person in question turned out to be Ichigo.

She rushed to his side, grabbing his arm and slightly pulling it. "Ichigo!" She had called him, trying to catch his attention. He was still alive, but barely holding on. Matsumoto tried her best to heal some of the wounds on the scene before she took him to Urahara's where he would be able to fully recover. Ichigo only had to be conscious so her kido would work on him. Apparently, that didn't last for long because when she had called his name for the third time, he hadn't replied. His chest stopped rising and falling, indicating that he was breathing. Reaching for his wrist from sheer panic, she found a very weak pulse. She could still save him!

When Matsumoto had glanced up, however, she found Kuchiki Rukia frozen in a block of ice. Her blue eyes widened with horror. No one could do that except for… Impossible! No, she won't accept that! Matsumoto grabbed her zunpaktou and summoned Haineko to crush the ice and release Rukia. Once the girl was freed, the strawberry blonde rushed to grab her. Rukia seemed alive, thank goodness. However, Rangiku did not have the time to be thankful for their survival. She needed to get them back to Urahara's and get them healed as fast as possible or she will regret being thankful.

And now she sat there, her eyes narrowing at the shopkeeper that was dressed in his greenish outfit. "Are you sure?" She asked, knowing that was a useless question to ask. How could she even deny that it was Hitsugaya-taicho who injured them? It was apparent with the way Ichigo had been cut up, the way Rukia was frozen. No one possessed such ability other than him.

Urahara smiled weakly. He knew about the strong bond that is between Matsumoto and Hitsugaya. Any idiot can see it. They acted as if they were siblings, both looking out for each other no matter what the cost was. It was quite painful to see her fight off the truth. Hitsugaya had attacked both Ichigo and Rukia, but why? That specific question took so many turns in his head while he treated both his patients. Had they done anything to agitate the young man? But even though they did, he would not go as far as attacking them.

"Goodness," he sighed as he sat down on the floor, on the other side of the table, facing Matsumoto, "this is such a hassle." Matsumoto knew he was right. This was indeed a hassle. She didn't know where her taicho was and neither Ichigo nor Rukia were conscious enough to tell her.

"For now all we can do is wait, Matsumoto." Urahara told her, breaking the silence that had fell upon the both of them. "When Ichigo or Rukia wake up, we can ask as many questions as you like. But for now, we must wait."

And as a reply Matsumoto nodded her head. She couldn't do anything but wait. Patience. That's what she needed right now. She needed patience. She would wait for them to wake up. She would wait for them to tell her everything. And she would wait for her taicho to come back safely to her. She had nothing else to do. She simply had to wait.

* * *

It was cold.

That was the first thing he was aware of. The second thing came after his eyes fluttered to an open, showing him a field of ice and explaining why he felt cold. He was lying down on his side, his hands underneath his cheek and his knees pulled up to his chest. He looked like as if he had been sleeping for a while. And if it were that the case, it didn't feel like he slept enough, causing him to close his eyes. However, that didn't make his mind shut down.

Where was he? That was the first rational thought that came to mind. How did he get here? Did someone carry him? Why wasn't he in his gigai?

"_You mustn't bother your mind with unimportant matters."_

Hyorinmaru?

"_You must rest, master. You're barely able to stand up and move. Rest a little more and then we will continue moving forward."_

Move forward? To where?

"_To a safer location," _the dragon replied to his thoughts. "_Until we are stronger as one, we must move to a safer location." _

It was that moment that Hitsugaya felt arms slide under his body and lift him off of the icy ground. It took him quite a lot of energy to open his eyes and see who was it that had picked him up. It shocked him to the core to see that it was Hyorinmaru. Actually, it had been a man, but he knew it was Hyorinmaru.

The man had long teal green hair and gray eyes that could possibly freeze a person with one look. He also had an light blue X across his face. The hands that were holding him felt like ice and when Hitsugaya looked at them, they were indeed ice. He looked back up at the man and took a deep breath.

"Hyorinmaru," Hitsugaya spoke weakly, feeling his energy seep through him rather quickly. It wasn't long before his eyelids grew heavy.

"It's alright, master. I'll protect you."

That was the last thing Hitsugaya heard before he was drawn back into the black hole of darkness again.

* * *

Every muscle in his body ached, demanding that he would wake up. He could feel each muscle tugging him, one more than the other. It was as if his muscles were telling him that he should be consciously aware of his surroundings. Not able to resist their demands, he slowly opened his eyes. At first everything was a blur and for a moment he thought he needed glasses to see clearly. Before his thoughts could even register the fact he never wore glasses, he moved his head and groaned. His eyes shut as an instant reflex to this.

"Up so fast, Ichigo?"

That was not a voice he wanted to hear when he woke up in the morning. Although, compared to his father's bizarre techniques of waking a human being up, he can tolerate Urahara Kisuke.

Bracing himself for the worst, Ichigo opened his eyes. His vision was still blurred, but when it finally settled there was a blue-eyed man staring at him, his nose inches away from his.

What was his reaction?

"EYYYA!"

He crawled rapidly backwards with the aid of his arms until he slammed against the wall. The back of his head naturally slammed against the thick wall. As a result, Ichigo groaned and rubbed the sore spot, a swear or two falling from his lips.

"Nah, Nah, Ichigo. You shouldn't have done that with all your injuries," remarked Urahara while he waved his hand forward, a chuckle following his last word.

"Well it's your fault for freaking me out! Who the hell wakes a person by closing up on them?! Not even my old man does that!" The strawberry haired boy snapped back, very aggravated with the whole ordeal.

Opening the green fan he usually carries, he hid his face behind it and slightly snickered. "That, my young boy, is life."

"What the hell does that have to do with life?!"

In an instant after those words, Kisuke became serious. His eyes narrowed as he closed his fan. It was seconds later that he echoed the words, "You must figure that on your own."

Silence fell upon the room for a few minutes. Both men looked at each other, their faces quite melancholy until Ichigo snapped as he flapped his arms, "The hell?! That doesn't even make sense you quack!"

"Quack? You're the one who's flapping your arms."

"Thaa—"

"Stop it both of you!" A young woman's voice pierced through, breaking their juvenile conversation. "Goodness, no one can leave the both of you in a room together. You'll just break out into a stupid fight." And it was after those words did Matsumoto appear from behind the door. She entered the room quietly and headed over to the wall closest to Ichigo and Urahara. Leaning there, she watched both of them with crossed arms.

"I'm glad you're awake, Ichigo. I didn't think you would be," murmured Matsumoto quietly after some moments.

Ichigo frowned. Why wouldn't he be awake? Looking more closely into Matsumoto, he noticed that the usually spontaneous blonde was quite solemn and maybe a bit restless. This made him frown a little more. What was going on…?

"Um. I don't know what you're talking about, Matsumoto."

"Look down, Ichigo." Replied the blonde, tearing her gaze from him and looking at the floor instead as if it was a lot more interesting that Ichigo.

Doing as she had said, he looked down and quickly his eyes widened. He upper body was completely covered up in gauze. There was no bleeding, however, but he figured out that the gauze had been changed before he could see it.

"What happened?"

Matsumoto didn't reply. She simply wrapped her arms around her midriff and stared forward. Finding this odd, he looked at the quack and found him rubbing the back of his head and sighing. "We were hoping you would tell us, Ichigo. Let's go to the other room and have some tea while we talk over this."

And it was as if Matsumoto was a subordinate rather than a captain. She instantly obeyed Kisuke's orders and headed out of the room, leaving a dumfounded Ichigo behind with Urahara whose expression was quite serious. With one look at Ichigo he said, "Come on, Ichigo. Just wear a shirt and come over."

Once he managed to get a shirt on, he left the room he was residing in and headed off for the other room. Everything was still a blur to him, so Ichigo was a bit cautious as he walked towards the room. He didn't know what was happening or what has happened, and truthfully it was somewhat bothersome.

As he came closer to the other room, he paused before opening the door and stared ahead, his eyes wide. He heard the word 'ice' from inside the room. It was as if his brain burst as memories started to flood in. The strong reiatsu, the ice covered playground, the boy with white eyes and that battle.

The boy with white eyes…

Ichigo's breath hitched and he instantly opened the door with so much force that it would have been tore off. "We have to find Toushiro!" He exclaimed rather panicly as he stood by the door, his brown eyes moving from Urahara and Matsumoto who was looking down at her hands.

"We're well aware of that, Ichigo." Urahara spoke softly, which was quite odd for the man. "But for some reason we can't seem to detect Hitsugaya-taicho's reiatsu. It seems like it dropped off the face of the earth."

"What do you mean dropped off the face of the earth?!" Ichigo said heatedly. "Don't you just give up just because you can't find his reiatsu!"

"No one spoke of giving up, Ichigo."

"It seems like you are!"

And with a blink of an eye, Ichigo found himself against the wall, a katana inches away from his neck. Matsumoto looked at him right in the eye, her own as hard as stone. Ichigo was breathless for a few second. Matsumoto looked like she had possessed the soul of Hitsugaya Toushiro for one moment before she spoke.

"I will not give up on Hitsugaya-taicho. And don't you dare accuse of me giving up, Kurosaki." Matsumoto growled through clenched teeth, pushing him against the wall more. "I will not stand here and listen to you brag when Hitsugaya-taicho is out there with God knows who!"

Urahara then stepped in between the two, his gently holding Matsumoto's katana. "Rangiku, calm down. Let Ichigo go and we'll talk about what we can do."

Matsumoto glared at Ichigo for a few more moments before letting him go with a 'Tech' and sit down. The boy rubbed his neck and did the same afterwards. Urahara instead smiled and sat between them, his hands crossed. A few moments passed between them in silence before Urahara broke it.

"Ichigo, tell us what happened before you came here."

Ichigo looked over at Matsumoto who had her eyes glare at the wall. He had never seen her in such a manner, but he couldn't blame her. Toushiro was apparently important to her and she'd do anything to keep him safe. The fear of loosing him again must've made her this cold and distant. But truly, deep inside she was panicking.

"Rukia and I… Wait, Rukia! Is she alright?!" Ichigo asked, his eyes widening as he realized that she had been frozen when they were fighting. Urahara nodded his head and murmured, "She'll live. Don't worry. Just continue with the story, Ichigo."

"Uh. Well we felt this huge reiatsu. It was really strong. I've never felt anything like it before. It was so strong we could barely stand up for a while. And when we were able to stand up, we headed towards the reaitsu since Rukia said it belonged to Toushiro. The moment we arrived we saw that the playground was turned into a field of ice and there was this boy who did not look like Toushiro at all. We could tell it was him, though."

"Did the boy have chestnut hair?" Urahara asked cautiously, looking at Ichigo from underneath his hat.

Ichigo blinked for a few seconds before nodding, "Yah. How'd you know?"

Sighing, the man rubbed his face with one hand. "That gigai was one of mine. I'll explain later, but do continue with your story."

"Erm… I called onto Toushiro, though he didn't reply. Little punk was ignoring me. So I decide to go and get him, but when I stepped onto the ice, it froze my foot instantly and I couldn't walk. And then he goes and tells me to not come any closer and that I should step away. I'm not sure about what happened next, but he got out of the gigai and we got into a fight."

"Did he say anything else?"

"He kept calling me boy, which I found weird. It isn't like him to call me that. I'm Kurosaki to him, not 'boy'. It isn't just that. He felt odd. He didn't feel like he was Toushiro. It was like—"

" Like he was possessed?" Spoke Matsumoto softly. She looked at Ichigo with soft eyes now, not like she was minutes ago. Her eyes were filled with worry and dread, not wanting to hear Ichigo's answer. She needed to, though. She needed to know if it was like those times when he was in Seireiti.

Ichigo stared at her for e afew moments before nodding his head. "He also said something before I blacked out, but I can't remember much of it."

"Rangiku, this is just like those times in Seireitei?" Urahara asked, causing Ichigo to furrow his brows and look at Matsumoto. Matsumoto nodded her head and sighed.

"Hitsugaya-taicho has had two energy bursts in Seireitei, but nothing like this. You said he spoke when this happened and he attacked you. Before it was nothing like that. He just… stared and everything turned into ice."

"What was it that you said a few seconds ago? That Hitsugaya-taicho said something before you blacked out?"

"Yeah, I just can't remember it much. It was something like protect. That he will protect his master from anyone who gets in his way? I'm not sure that was it, but it sounded something like that."

Urahara's eyes narrowed, causing both Ichigo and Matsumoto to look at him with confused looks. The man hummed underneath his breath for a moment before he sighed and looked up at the both of them.

"I have a theory that it might not be Hitsugaya-taicho who's doing all of this."

Ichigo and Matsumoto looked even more confused than ever with what Urahara said.

"And that is?" Matsumoto asked, feeling like she was treading against icy.

"Hitsugaya-taicho might indeed be possessed." Urahara said in almost a whisper, his head bent down a bit, his eyes hidden behind his hat.

Matsumoto and Ichigo's eyes widened with shock and horror. Slamming his hands against the coffee table, Ichigo leaned forward as if he was about to pounce onto Urahara. "Who is it?! Do you have an idea?!"

The man in green slowly looked up from underneath his head and said only one word.

"Hyorinmaru."

* * *

MWAHA! So Urahara was smart enough to figure out that it has been Hyorinmaru who's been possessing Hitsugaya.

I'm REALLY happy that a lot of people like this FF. This makes me weep with joy. IT DOES. ;_;

Read & Review please, lovies! It makes me cry a fountain of joy! IT DOES, IT DOES! :D


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